Justice done in Indonesia
The execution by firing squad last week of the three Bali bombers provides a sense of justice to the families of those involved in that terrible night in October 2002. It also brings justice to the 202 innocent people who died and the thousands who were wounded and whose lives were affected. But the death penalties also were further evidence that the world's most populous Muslim nation is determined to take res The execution by firing squad last week of the three Bali bombers provides a sense of justice to the families of those involved in that terrible night in October 2002. It also brings justice to the 202 innocent people who died and the thousands who were wounded and whose liveponsible action to suppress the twin problems of terrorism and religious extremism.
It was not always so clear. The year between the 9/11 attacks on America and the Bali terrorism was difficult for Indonesia. Indeed, extremists almost gained the upper hand. Fringe groups virtually barricaded some foreign embassies, and attacked the US, British and Philippine diplomatic enclaves. Many foreigners moved out, and the Thai foreign ministry issued advisories that recommended against travel to Jakarta and other Indonesian cities. The radicals charged that the US attacks were fake, and part of a plot against Islam. The US invasion of Afghanistan caused large protests in Indonesia.
The firebombs in Bali were a wake-up call for that country. And the credit for that goes to the government and security forces. The leadership came to its senses, shrugged off the radicals, and welcomed the help of outside experts to investigate the Bali attacks. The police, especially, launched a massive and widespread inquiry. It had no preconceptions. In particular, national police chief Gen Da'i Bachtiar was steadfast that only the facts would determine the outcome.
As a result, Indonesians and their neighbours learned about the great dangers posed by the Jemaah Islamiyah extremists. The main perpetrators of the Bali atrocity were identified, tracked and arrested. Their trials were fair. Judges were put under death threats from supporters of JI and similar groups, but ensured that justice was seen to be done. In particular, the police and courts ignored or rejected the claims of the bombers that they had acted as good Muslims.
Of particular note was the work of the two main ''schools'' of the Indonesian ummah, or Muslim community. Between them, the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah claim a total membership of 70 million of the 235 million Indonesians. Their leaders preached and stressed that there is no place for violence, let alone terrorism, in the Islamic religion. Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, told the Jakarta Post, ''The use of violence and attacks cannot be tolerated in our religion.''
Indeed. The bombers insisted right to their undignified last news conference and a hand-written note that they acted in the name of Islam. But just a sliver of a minority of radicals protested their executions, let alone make good on threats to terrorise Jakarta and foreign embassies with bombs. The unrepentant bombers died. So did yet another part of their odious movement.
Since the Bali bombing, Indonesia has arrested, tried and imprisoned many members of JI and allied groups. The appeals by radicals for public support on religious grounds have found no response. Like decent people worldwide, Indonesians have been repelled by the call for terrorist attacks on innocent targets.
They also have seen that the war on terror is no threat to Islam. The arrest, exposure and subsequent executions of the Bali bombers has, rather, shown that murderers and enablers are using Islam illegally and hypocritically. The sentence against the Bali bombers is a matter of justice. The three were mass murderers and justice has been done.
