Let the law do its work

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.