Let the law do its work

For many people, these are the trials of the century. And we should respect them, and treat them accordingly.

The trial of Amrozi in Denpasar, which got underway on Monday, is the first of many that will be conducted in the Bali capital in the coming weeks in connection with the bomb attacks in October that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

It is certainly not an ordinary trial.

The magnitude of the killing itself makes this a very unusual case. The deaths of so many innocent people from different nationalities makes this a trial that will be followed intensely by the domestic and international public. The heinous nature of the crime, and the presence of terrorism elements, are drawing the attention of those who have been obsessed with the war on terrorism for nearly two years now.

The Oct. 12 bomb attack in Bali was the most devastating to have taken place since a group of suicide hijackers crashed their planes in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Bali attack caused more than death. Those who lost their loved ones, and those who were left injured, will have to live with the psychological scars forever.

The attacks caused many ripples in Indonesia and across the region. Bali and the rest of Indonesia were severely punished by most of the rest of the world because of our inability to deal with the threat of terrorism. Bali's tourism, the source of income for many people there, has never recovered. The rest of Indonesia also suffered as many countries warned their citizens (and investors) against visiting our country.

Life for many people has never been the same since then.

The government, thankfully albeit belatedly, got its act together in response to the terrorist attacks. New legislation was introduced to empower the government, police and the courts in dealing with this threat. Indonesia also found there was never a shortage of support and assistance from other countries.

The National Police got down to work immediately to launch the investigation with the help of their foreign counterparts, most of all Australia. Within two weeks, they arrested the bombing suspects, starting with Amrozi, and smashed their alleged ring.

It has taken them exactly seven months since the bombing to bring the first suspect to the court, with Amrozi's trial. This is quite an achievement considering what they were up against at the start of the investigation, and considering their past failures in solving earlier, albeit smaller, terrorist attacks.

Will their work and perseverance pay off?

We certainly hope so. Success will be measured not only by the final verdicts meted by the court, but more importantly by the process of the trials. That means that these trials will have to be transparent, credible, and most of all, fair.

The verdicts, whichever way they go, will be the consequence of the legal processes that we hope will be able to dig out the truth about these bombings, the perpetrators and their motives.

Those who have been following the investigations into these bombings may have some reservations about the process and the results. Some may even have questions about the credibility of the investigation. There may even be doubts about the ability of our courts being able to dispense justice.

But now that the first of many trials has started, the best thing that everyone -- and we mean everyone without exception -- can do is to allow the court to do its work.

We should leave the judges alone in working to find the truth about the Oct. 12 bombings, and to come to their own decisions about these suspects on trial. We should not try to interfere, or even worse, subvert the legal process.

The media, which has developed a habit of turning every major incident into a circus, including the police investigation of this bombing, must refrain from publishing or airing stories or comments that could be construed as influencing the trials. In other words, we should only be reporting about what is said in court and not more and not less.

This is indeed, for many of us, the trial of the century.

The nation, and the international community too, are placing their hopes on the shoulders of the panel of judges entrusted with the trial of Amrozi, and of the other suspects.

This is indeed a huge responsibility. Let's hope that the judges are up to their task.