Bali bomb trial to be held in Denpasar: Pastika
Bali bomb trial to be held in Denpasar: Pastika
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar
While the investigation into the Bali bombings is not expected to
be completed any time soon, the provincial police are already
preparing themselves for the trial of the perpetrators.
Head of the joint investigative team into the bomb attacks
Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said on Friday that the trial
would take place on the world-famous resort island.
"All those who are involved in the Bali bombing will be tried
in Bali," Pastika told a media conference in Jakarta.
He played down the possibility of reprisals from Balinese
seeking revenge for the blasts, which killed over 190 people and
injured hundreds of others.
"Don't worry. The Balinese are a peace-loving people. If the
trial goes ahead in Bali, public order and security will be
maintained," said Pastika, himself a native of Bali.
The terrorist attack not only claimed many lives, but has
brought about other serious consequences for the Balinese,
including mass unemployment as a result of the virtual collapse
of the tourist industry.
Pastika was commenting on a rally staged by some 100 local
non-governmental organization activists, who marched on Thursday
through the Bali provincial capital of Denpasar to demand that
the trial of the bomb suspects be held on the island.
They threatened to create trouble should the alleged
perpetrators of the carnage be tried outside the province.
The participants in the rally comprised the People's
Representative Council (DPM) and several other local non-
governmental and other organizations, including the Laskar Trisna
Jaya militia and the Karangasem Youth group.
"We urge the authorities to hold the trials of the bombers in
Bali as this is in line with Article 48 of the Criminal
Procedures Code," DPM secretary I Nyoman Widana told the
provincial police chief, Insp. Gen. Budy Setyawan, during a
meeting that lasted less than 30 minutes on Thursday.
The protesters also marched to the Bali prosecutors' office
and the provincial legislative council to voice their demands.
The DPM, a leading pressure group in Bali, is based in
Karangasem district and has thousands of members across the
province. The town, some 50 kilometers from Denpasar, is a
stronghold of Bali's traditional Hindus and is known for having
the province's highest level of violence.
In his reply, the Bali police chief said he would listen to
the voice of the people and pledged to ensure that the trials of
the bomb suspects would take place in the province.
"The Bali Police are prepared to guard the trials," Budy told
journalists after his meeting with the demonstrators.