Fri, 08 Aug 2003

Let the law prevail

The death sentence, that was pronounced by the court on Thursday in Denpasar for Amrozi bin Nurhasyim was an event of major significance for various indisputable reasons. Indeed, both the judgment and the circumstances that led to it can be regarded as setting a new milestone in the country's history of jurisprudence. After all, the Bali bombing tragedy on Oct. 12 -- that left at least 202 people dead last year -- was the jolt that forced Indonesia out of its complacency and toward taking the threat of terrorism seriously.

Yesterday's judgment, was made after some 50 witnesses were heard in the court. It was the first verdict made under Indonesia's tough new antiterrorism law, which was passed in the wake of the Kuta bombing tragedy. The court is expected to pass similar verdicts in the coming months. Among those that are expected to go on trial are the other key suspects in the case, two of Amrozy's brothers, Ali Ghufron and Ali Imron, as well as the plot's alleged mastermind, Imam Samudra.

The severity of Thursday's court verdict was made even more meaningful by the fact that it was passed just two days after a car bomb of similar strength and composition -- and planted in more or less the same method as the Bali bomb -- ripped through the plush American-managed JW Marriott Hotel in Central Jakarta. Ten people were killed and 149 injured. Much like the Bali bomb, the Marriott bomb caused considerable damage to the hotel and its immediate surroundings.

Given the timing, and the similarities of means and methods employed in the Bali and Marriott blasts, it is difficult not to read in the latter an ominous message to the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and to the panel of judges in Denpasar. In fact, precisely such a message was reported to have actually been delivered by an alleged Jamaah Islamiyah operative to authorities in Singapore immediately after the Marriott bombing. The message, according to the report, contained the warning that the "murder" of any Jamaah member or associate would be avenged in kind.

Whether or not such an assumption is correct is, of course, open to question. After all, the Bali bombing suspects admitted under interrogation that their main motive was to kill as many foreigners as possible -- Americans in particular -- to avenge the killings of Muslims and the injustices done to them in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world by the Western "crusaders." Also, Indonesian police authorities have claimed last week to have confiscated documents in Semarang, Central Java, disclosing plans to attack certain areas in Central Jakarta, including the area where the Marriott Hotel is located. The link between Bali, Semarang and Jakarta, however, has not yet been established.

Whatever the case may be, it is obvious that the government, including the judicial authorities, cannot bow to such threats. It is the government's duty to make sure that security prevails in the community and that the lives and property of all citizens and residents, regardless of race or creed, are protected. Business must be assured a conducive climate for operations and people must be able to go about their daily business in freedom and safety. Murder, and mass murder in particular, can not be condoned. By whatever arguments killers attempt to make in justification of their acts, they must be punished in accordance to the law.

It is for all these reasons that we believe that Indonesians will understand the extreme verdict that was passed by the court in Denpasar on Thursday. The Marriott blast was the latest deadly bombing incident to disrupt the peace in this country. More could follow. All that Indonesians can do under the present circumstances is to remain vigilant, while hoping and praying that the intelligence authorities will do their jobs and improve their performance with speed and persistence.