Following a series of recent trumped-up bomb scares in the capital, a television news report Wednesday claiming the execution of the three Bali bombers would take place Thursday turned out to be a mere hoax.

While the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has remained tight-lipped about the execution dates for Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra -- who were responsible for the death of more than 200 innocent people -- the decision on the execution has reportedly been handed over to the Bali Provincial Prosecutors' Office, which is directly under AGO supervision.

Preparations have been made: security has been tightened at the Nusakambangan prison where the bombers await execution; three poles have been erected where the bombers are to stand before a firing squad; and some supporters of the bombers' are preparing graves in Cianjur, West Java.

No one knows what is in the mind of whichever decision-maker has yet to issue the execution order. Previous media reports said it would take place in early November. Attorney General Hendarman Supanji has just said early November means between the first and the fifteenth of the month.

There are noteworthy consequences from keeping the D-day from the public. At least five private televisions have been preparing coverage of the executions. Since they are competing with each other, the reporters and cameramen have been vying to produce the most recent and exclusive updates and pictures. Most likely many of them are frustrated with the uncertainty even as their editors in Jakarta keep pressing for fresh reports and footage.

While many print journalists can restrain themselves from reporting hour-by-hour developments at the Nusakambangan (Cilacap) prison, television reporters keep reporting anything tangentially related to the execution or the bombers. Boring and trivial reports are filling airtime. Once Imam Samudra's mother was featured on TV with the reporter saying repeatedly her son respected his mother very much, irrelevant to what the man did in Bali four years ago. Another television station aired a feature in which the three bombers stated they "are now in jihad waiting for the execution day." The word jihad was misleading and inappropriately used in that context. With respect to freedom of expression and the public right to accurate information, the media -- private televisions in this context -- must exercise more prudence. Wisdom, maturity and self-censorship are key in deciding whether programs or events should be aired, given that our society is, frankly, fragile and has poor resilience at times when faced with contentious information.

In a particularly ill-considered instance, a private television arranged a debate Tuesday between one group opposing any kind of terrorism in the name of religion and another group accepting what Amrozi and his gang had done in Bali. Does such a controversial program deserve to be aired?

Even though the Bali bombings have no religious motivation, the AGO should have foreseen that keeping the execution date uncertain would boost sympathy from individuals or organizations which have turned out to be pressure groups.

Islamic boarding school students (santri) in Serang, Banten, have expressed their sympathy by planning a special prayer once the bombers are executed. The controversial Islamic Defenders Front plans to receive the dead three when their bodies are flown home to Lamongan in East Java and to Banten. Another Islamic organization has prepared a plot of land in Cianjur, West Java, for the bombers' graves.

The mother of brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas has sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. No official reports describe what the letter says.

A series of bomb threats at two malls, the U.S. and Australian embassies and a gas station in Plumpang, North Jakarta, are likely provocations from those supporting the three terrorists.

The most serious threat could be a call for Muslims to wage war and kill Yudhoyono and some of his cabinet officials. Through an e-mail, the sender said this call to assassinate the President and cabinet members is in retaliation for the execution of Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra.

The uncertain execution date has in practical terms given radical groups a new opportunity to continue their terror tactics. So, whether or not the Bali bombers are executed, the latest developments indicate terrorists do have a place in the country, implying all these threats could not be just hoaxes.

The writer is a journalist living in Jakarta. He can be contacted at soeryo_winoto@yahoo.com

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