Tourists Should be ‘Beat Up,’ Says Bali Bombing Conspirator

Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir called Western tourists in Indonesia “maggots, snakes and worms,” and he urged his followers not to tolerate them in a sermon captured on video by Australian university student Nathan Franklin.

Bashir spoke last October, but his latest volley of hateful words is only now coming to light. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, “These remarks, these reported remarks from a speech six months ago, contain all the familiar bigotry and they are absolutely condemned.”

Bashir was convicted of conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings and served 26 months in jail before being released last year. The sermon gives rise to worries that Bashir “had been emboldened by his release from prison,” according to the Telegraph.

Adding to the worries: Three convicted Bali bombers “have edged closer to facing execution after their lawyer resigned.” Bashir has promised retribution should they be executed.

The Australian government, according to the Telegraph, “advises Australians to think carefully before travelling to Indonesia, including Bali, due to a ‘very high’ threat of terrorist attack.”

The United States government has a travel warning in effect, dating to Oct. 5, 2007. As of this post, it hasn’t been updated.

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