The Presets have had a heated correspondence with a section of their fans of the state sanctioned murders intimate of convicted drug runners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Continued pleas for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran have been rejected by Indonesian president Widodo.
On Sunday The Presets posted to Facebook, “if you believe in state sanctioned murder, are against compassion and think you are above making mistakes… please… unfollow us, delete all our music and stop listening to us altogether. Peace”.
After some fans the opposing side of the band, they posted again, “if you agree with murder, lack compassion and openly display those views on our page then yes, you are a total cunt and can fuck off . I don’t care if that offends, if you truly have delicate sensibilities then surely you are not a passive murderer.”
On Sunday night The Presets pointed out at their 2007 song ‘My People’ was a protest against the Howard government’s treatment of asylums seekers. One person Ryan Osama then posted, “Presets logic: refuse to criticise the actions of criminals but will criticise any form of punishment handed to criminals. Stop trying to impose your world view on other cultures”.
Today Kim Moyes of The Presets posted, “OK. Obviously that all got a bit out of control yesterday. I feel strongly about this issue but that’s still no excuse for getting personal … SORRY. After a long deep breath here’s what I was trying to say under all that emotion:
I personally believe that no Government should have the right to take away somebody’s life.
“I personally believe that State sanctioned killing almost never does any good and it often does great harm. I therefore think it’s nearly always a bad idea. Of course other people have the right to disagree (respectfully) with me about that, and I have the right to disagree (respectfully) with them too.
“To avoid any more confusion, I’m not supporting drug trafficking. I’m not singling out Indonesia. I’m not saying crimes shouldn’t be punished and I’m not saying this case is unique. I’m also not saying that I’m any kind of expert. However, I am entitled to my point of view – same as everybody else – and in that respectful spirit, both my heart and my head profoundly disagree with State sanctioned killings such as these”.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran could be executed in Indonesia as soon as tomorrow.
