Credibility at stake

The stubborn skepticism that is evident in certain sectors of our society regarding the progress that investigators are making in Bali illustrates the difficult path that our National Police have to walk toward unraveling the questions that are still hanging over the horrendous Oct. 12 bombing. In particular, it illustrates the need for our police officers to exercise caution and good judgment, to act in a professional manner and give performance precedence over any other consideration.

It is of course encouraging to hear our National Police chief, Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, assure Indonesians and the world over the weekend that the investigators in the field are making good progress. Also, his appeal to the public to trust the investigators in the field and discard any suspicions of police fabricating facts in a case as serious as this is reasonable enough. Excessive criticism and distrust on the part of the public could hamper the investigation, especially when voiced by people in high positions such as People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais.

Amien, talking to reporters in Makassar last week, said he doubted the credibility of police work in the Bali bombing case. In an apparent allusion to the fact that smooth progress in investigating violent incidents was not a trademark of police work in this country -- remember for instance the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents -- Amien suggested that one method that could be better relied on to reveal what really happened that fateful night of Oct. 12 was by reconstructing the attack, rather than simply questioning suspects. That, he said, would quickly establish whether or not Amrozi, the only suspect in the case interrogated so far, is telling the truth. As things are going at present, he said, the general impression was that the investigation was going all too smoothly. In other words, the unfortunate impression is that the suspect's admissions were either made under duress or fabricated by the police.

Of course those suspicions may not be justified. Da'i, for his part, promptly assured the public that none of Amrozi's confessions were made through coercion or were fabricated. In fact, he told reporters in Jakarta, it was precisely to dispel such an impression that he held a meeting with the suspect organized in Bali last week. The encounter, Da'i said, was meant to prove to the public that everything that Amrozi had revealed about his role in the Bali attack was volunteered freely and without coercion.

"I only wanted to verify whether what he (Amrozi) told the interrogators was the same as what he told me. That was proven to be the case," he said, apparently in response to public criticism of the event. As for the suspect smiling and waving to reporters and press photographers, according to the police general, that was done at the request of reporters present on the occasion -- not a very professional act, by the way, on their part, if true.

So much for Da'i's version of that friendly chat last week between the chief of our National Police force and a major terrorist suspect. It could of course be true that the police chief's intentions were, as he said, to assure the public that none of Amrozi's confessions were made under duress and that he, himself was offended by the suspect's seemingly untroubled behavior and his smiling and waving to reporters.

Assuming Da'i's explanation is true, there is still another aspect that the police general apparently has forgotten to take into account -- which is the impression of gross insensitivity that he created by his friendly chat with Amrozi and allowing the suspect to behave in the manner he did. One cannot blame friends and family members of those who died or were injured in the Oct. 12 terrorist attack, both here and abroad, for being offended by that unfortunate show of insensitivity.

Indeed, it is difficult to avoid the impression that, through the meeting, a tasteless public relations show was being presented to the public for the benefit of our police force -- or worse, for the benefit of certain officers in our police force.

That would have been distasteful under any circumstances. In this present case, the biggest terrorist attach since the Sept. 11 attack in the United States last year and one that killed or injured hundreds of people, such exploitation would be totally unacceptable.

Police officers, whatever their rank, should always bear in mind that their tasks and responsibilities are both a privilege and a burden. It is important that our police officers consider all the consequences of the actions they might take. Unfortunately, the same must also be said of the press.