Ba'syir's legal process not yet final

Ba'syir's legal process not yet final

The legal process against chairman of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is not yet final.

The statement was made among others by Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz and chairman of the Commission on national legal commission, JE Sahetapy.

Their comments may be related to statements made by ranking foreign officials, such as Australia's Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer.

From our perspective, we admire the attitude of Ba'asyir's supporters because in their statement and protest over the unfair treatment given to the Moslem cleric, they still respect the legal process.

It is logical for Ba'asyir's followers and supporters, even for some of us to think that the judges' decision against the cleric was unfair.

Although the decision was wholly unsatisfactory, the meticulousness and responsibility of the panel of judges should be respected, as well as Ba'asyir's supporters.

However, we stress once again that the legal process against Ba'asyir will proceed fairly and humanely.

-- Kompas, Jakarta