Anger bubbles in Bali as bombing trial for first suspect begins

Anger bubbles in Bali as bombing trial for first suspect begins

Achmad Sukarsono and Dean Yates, Reuters, Denpasar, Bali

From craftsmen to waiters, taxi drivers to hawkers, it seems many
of Bali's gentle people want one thing from the opening trial
into bomb attacks last October that killed more than 200 people
-- vengeance.

In the dock on Monday and the focal point of their hatred will
be Amrozi, a fresh-faced Indonesian militant who was the first
suspect caught by police after the October 12 blasts.

Amrozi's apparent giggling delight at the attacks, broadcast
in a public police interrogation a month after the bombings,
shocked people across this Hindu island and around the world.

"He should be chained and dragged up this street so we can all
have a go at him. Then he can be put in a cage for exhibition,"
said Wayan, a surf shop attendant speaking near a vacant lot that
used to be the popular Sari Club.

A massive car bomb, one of three separate blasts, tore through
the Sari Club and other bars on a typical Saturday night here
seven months ago, devastating Bali's tourism industry and leaving
wounds that have yet to heal.

At a recent event, Balinese paraded a giant papier mache
figure of Amrozi through local streets before burning it as part
of ceremonies to cleanse the island of evil spirits.

Prosecutors have charged the 40-year-old mechanic from
adjacent Java island with helping plot terror acts under new
anti-terrorism laws. He faces the death penalty.

Amrozi's lawyers were not available to comment on the charges
but have said the Bali trials showed Indonesia, the world's most
populous Muslim nation, had succumbed to international pressure.

Some 30 militants are likely to be tried over the attacks,
which police have blamed on the radical Southeast Asian terror
network, Jamaah Islamiah.

Many of the dead were foreign tourists. Several dozen Balinese
also died.

"I want to have piece of him but it will be better to stay
home and watch the trial on TV," said student Dewa Made Suartana.

"The most I can do is kick the TV set."

Added Ni Wayan Rasni, wife of a Sari Club security guard who
died: "Death seems too easy for him."

With emotions running high, police are taking no chances over
security, although they have said the main source of unrest could
come from elements who sympathize with the bombing suspects.

Sharp shooters on rooftops will be among 3,000 police and
other security officials guarding a makeshift court venue in the
local capital Denpasar, normally a building used by the wives of
government officials, and chosen partly because of its size.

At stake for Jakarta is its chance to show the international
community, already surprised by the thorough probe, that its
often unreliable courts can hand down tough verdicts and uncover
clues about bombing masterminds believed to be still at large.

Police have urged relatives of the victims not to attend the
trials, saying it might be too emotional. While some are expected
to turn up, Australian Geoffrey Thwaites, whose 24-year-old son
Robert was killed, said it would be too traumatic to appear.

Indeed, Thwaites was in Bali when he said a police convoy
carrying Amrozi went past the office of the Zero to One
Foundation, an organization set up by Thwaites and others in
memory of his son to help the victims of terror attacks.

"Did I get upset when they drove past me in Bali the other
day? Yes. Did it make me cry? Yes. Why would I do it again?" the
Indonesia-based Thwaites asked.

About 90 Australians were among the victims from 20 countries.