JP\/1\/BALI<\/p>\n
Balinese protesters storm prison<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Denpasar<\/p>\n
Frustrated with the sluggish progress in the implementation of
\nthe death sentence for three of the 2002 Bali bombers, hundreds
\nof angry Balinese protesters stormed and vandalized a prison on
\nWednesday where several convicted Bali bombers were being held.
\nThe protest had little political repercussions but it sent a
\nclear signal to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that, for the
\nBalinese, enough was enough. The protesters have left no option
\nfor Susilo, but to reject the clemency sought by the bombers and
\nto have them executed immediately.<\/p>\n
The first group of protesters arrived at around 4 p.m.
\nInitially, there were only 30 of them. Thirty minutes later the
\nnumber grew to around 400 protesters.\"By 5:30 p.m, the number was
\nsomewhere between 1,000 to 1,500 protesters,\" a police officer
\nsaid. The protesters came from as far as Beraban village in
\nTabanan regency. Yet, the majority of the protesters came from
\nseveral traditional customary villages of Desa Pekraman in the
\nKerobokan area.<\/p>\n
The two iron gates that stood between the prison's outer yard
\nand the road were the first victims of the angry protesters. They
\nshook the gates violently until both collapsed. The mob later
\nthrew the gates into a narrow gutter after jumping and stamping
\non them repeatedly.<\/p>\n
They then tore down the low concrete fence that connected the
\ntwo broken gates before hurling stones and pebbles onto the
\nprison's roof. A few protesters who tried to calm the mob were
\nsoon out-shouted by their raging colleagues.<\/p>\n
\"Bali has already been destroyed. It will make no difference
\nif we raze this prison to the ground,\" a protester yelled before
\nhammering a long iron pole into a concrete slab in front of the
\nprison. By that time, all the shops around the prison had been
\nclosed and the police closed off all roads leading to the area.
\n\"It is a natural response from a wounded community that has been
\ntreated insensitively by the central government. In fact, it is a
\nmild response compared to the anger that is seething in our
\nheart,\" a protest leader Madra Adnyana said.<\/p>\n
The protesters did not try to storm the prison's main gate,
\nwhich was cordoned off by at least 300 riot police and dozens of
\nplainclothes officers from the Denpasar and Badung Police.<\/p>\n
Wearing Balinese headbands and sarongs, the crowd repeatedly
\nyelled \"kill Amrozi, kill Amrozi\" during the protest held hours
\nafter the 2002 bombing survivors held a commemoration of the
\nterror attack three years ago that killed 202 people, mostly
\nforeign tourists. Amrozi was the most sought after bomber by the
\nangry Balinese due to his demeanor in the courtroom, which gained
\nhim the title \"the smiling bomber\". Amrozi was among three
\npeople sentenced to death after the 2002 Bali bombings, which
\ndealt a huge blow to Bali's tourist industry, the backbone of the
\nisland's economy.<\/p>\n
Due to security concerns, Amrozi and the two other convicts on
\ndeath row, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas, had been transferred on
\nTuesday to Nusa Kambangan prison in Central Java. But, several
\nother convicts responsible for the 2002i bombing are still being
\nkept at Kerobokan Prison. Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas have
\nnot been executed pending their request for clemency.<\/p>\n
The incident at Kerobokan Prison was a culmination of anger
\nand frustration of the Balinese after the island was hit by
\nanother bomb attack on Oct. 1. The bombing in Jimbaran and Kuta
\nSquare, which took place hours after the government increased
\nfuel prices by 126 percent, killed 23 people.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the protest did not turn into an all out riot as
\npolice personnel succeeded in persuading the protesters to not
\nresort to violence.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp1bali-1447899208",
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