View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RMIT Research Repository TERROR IN INDONESIA: TERRORISM AND THE REPRESENTATION OF RECENT TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THREE INDONESIAN NEWS PUBLICATIONS WITHIN A CONTEXT OF CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRANSITION PRAYUDI AHMAD A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at RMIT University SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION COLLEGE OF DESIGN AND SOCIAL CONTEXT ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA JUNE 2010 ii DECLARATION I certify that this dissertation does not incorporate without acknowledgement any material which has been submitted for an award of any other university or other institutions. To the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the dissertation. The content of the dissertation is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program. Any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged. Signed : Date : June 2010 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the outcome of four years of doctoral research in the School of Media and Communication, College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. During this time, I have worked with a great number of people who have contributed in various ways to the research and the completion of the dissertation. It is a pleasure to convey my gratitude to them all and convey my humble acknowledgment. First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Dr. Jeff Lewis and Dr. Nasya Bahfen, whose supervision, guidance and advice have been extraordinary, whilst allowing me the space to work in my own way. They have provided me with encouragement and support throughout the research process and dissertation writing. Above all, they have become the source of knowledge that had inspired me as a research student. I am indebted to them more than they know. I convey special acknowledgement to Dr. Brian Morris (former Postgraduate Research Coordinator), Dr. Linda Daley (current Postgraduate Research Coordinator) and Angelo Tardio (Postgraduate Research administration staff), who have assisted me with my study needs at the school. Their kind attention and assistance to the postgraduate research students and me in particular, have been invaluable for the completion of my study. I owe my deepest gratitude to RMIT International for providing me with a RMIT University International Scholarship (RUIS). Margaret Jones, Reshmi Halder and Emily Ross from the scholarship office have been very helpful and understanding throughout my candidature at RMIT. Without the scholarship, my dream of pursuing a PhD at RMIT would not have been possible. My special thanks go to Jessica Raschke, who has been my Australian friend since 2001. She has proven the adage— “a true friend is not a matter of quantity, but a matter of quality”— through her kind friendship with me all these years. iv I would also like to thank the University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta Indonesia, the university where I work as a lecturer. The University has helped me with fund my research and airfares to and from Australia. Thanks also go to my colleagues at the Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta. My four-year of hard work will be meaningless without the immeasurable support and understanding of my family. Words fail to express my appreciation to my wife, Triana Wulandari, and my children, Annisa Aqilah Rahmania and Hanif Zaki Dhiaurrahman. This dream would not have come true without their encouragement, support and sacrifice. I am happy that I was finally able to take them to visit Australia. I dedicate this to them all. I would also like to express my gratitude and dedicate this dissertation to my late parents, Ahmad Suwardi (my father) and Lestari (my mother). Sadly, my parents have not been able to see their youngest son achieve the highest degree in education. They helped my aspire to higher levels of learning. Without them, I would never be what I am now. I will always pray for them. Finally, I would like to thank those who had contributed to the successful realization of this dissertation. My apology to those whose names I could not mention personally one by one. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration ii Acknowledgement iii Table of contents v Summary 1 Part I Chapter 1 Introduction 5 Background 5 Research questions 8 Scope of the study 9 Rationale 10 Literature review 11 Outline of the Study 13 Chapter 2 Approaching the study 15 Introduction 15 Theoretical framework 15 Research methodology 23 Chapter 3 Terrorism, Media and Islam 32 Introduction 32 Terrorism: definition and context 33 Media and terrorism 38 vi Islam and Islamism 41 Jihad and radical Islamism 46 Conclusion 53 Part II Chapter 4 Islam, Culture and Politics in Indonesia 57 Introduction 57 Foundations of political Islam: the modern state of Indonesia 59 Islam under the New Order 65 Islam and Politics in Transition Indonesia 71 Conclusion 77 Chapter 5 Radical Islamism and Political Violence 80 Introduction 80 Terrorism and radical Islamic group: the background 81 The emergence of radical Islamism: past and present 84 The Darul Islam Movement 94 Radical Islamism in transition Indonesia 99 Jemaah Islamiyah: its network and operation 104 Conclusion 117 Chapter 6 The Indonesian Press: From “Ordered Press” To “Liberal Press” 120 Introduction 120 The ordered press 121 Indonesian press in the era of “reform” 132 Conclusion 145 vii Part III Chapter 7 The Jakarta Post Representation of Terrorism 149 Introduction 149 The Jakarta Post: profile and editorial policy 150 Terrorism attacks: the setting 155 The Jakarta Post representation of terrorism 162 Conclusion 178 Chapter 8 Textual Analysis of Sabili Representation of Terrorism 181 Introduction 181 Sabili: profile and editorial policy 182 Sabili representation of terrorism 185 Conclusion 198 Chapter 9 Textual Analysis of Tempo Representation of Terrorism 200 Introduction 200 Tempo: profile and editorial policy 201 Tempo representation of terrorism 205 Conclusion 227 Chapter 10 News Media and Terrorism: Conclusion 229 Bibliography 232 viii SUMMARY Modern terrorism has been formed and generated through its integration with the mass media and global communication systems. The representation of terrorism in the Indonesian media is associated with complex communicational processes generated through cultural, political economic and organisational patterns and factors. The most recent and publicly extant examples of terrorism in Indonesia have been associated with the more militant factions of radical Islam. Some well-publicized terrorist attacks have been occurring since the fall of President Suharto's New Order regime in 1998. This research examines terrorism in Indonesia and the way it has been constructed and represented in the reporting of several recent terrorist attacks. The research focuses on three news-based publications. These publications are presented as 'case studies' of diversity in the Indonesian print media and the print media's engagement with terrorism and terrorist attacks. The overarching aim of this research is to examine the ways in which the print media is engaging with Indonesian terrorism within a broader context of the nation's social, political and cultural transition. This process of engagement, representation and meaning-making is situated within broader historical and cultural analysis of the media, including its 'reformation' within the post New Order civic conditions. Specifically, the study is interested in the role of the media, and news repporting in particular, within a civil order that supports freedom of expression, democracy and the fourth estate function of the press. In particular, the analysis focuses on the 2002 Bali bombing, the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing and the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing. The euphoria that has emerged since 1998, which marks the beginning of Reformasi (reformation), has given the Indonesian media institutions freedom to report any issues without fear of being prosecuted or banned by the government. Nonetheless, the Indonesian news media are influenced by cultural, political, and organisational factors when reporting potentially divisive issues like terrorism and religion. Within news media institutions, the interplay of these various factors contributes to the way news media represents the issue of terrorism. This study employed a broadly defined Cultural Studies framework to examine how media institutions and their professional journalists represent the issue of terrorism. The approach emphasizes the interplay between lived experience, discourses and texts. Various methods were used to generate 'data'—that is, material that is generated through systematic and empirical methods, including textual analysis and in-depth interviews. Data were gathered from news items in three national publications. Data analysis techniques included contextualism and textual analysis. The techniques were used to analyse how these specific media outlets represent terrorism, specifically as it is linked to recent militant attacks in Indonesia. The analysis especially emphasized the cultural, political and organisational factors that contribute to the formation of the texts,