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August 13, 2006

Indonesia: Executions Of Christians Accused In Muslim Conflict Delayed

The present government of Indonesia, led by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is struggling with the rise of militant Islamism, which is threatening to destabilise the country. Though officially the nation, founded in 1950, has a constitution which allows for freedom of religion, various elements have been driving to turn the country into an Islamist state, as we reported earlier. Already Aceh province is ruled under sharia law, denying many their basic human rights, and many provinces wish to institute similar rules. Some, such as Tangerang, have already brought in bylaws which make it illegal for a woman to be seen outside on an evening, without a husband. Breaches of this law mean innocent women are charged with prostitution.

Susilo is a weak president, who tries to appease both moderates and hardliners. When Haji Mohamed Suharto, the second ruler (or dictator) of Indonesia, was in power from 1967 to 1998, Islamic militancy was kept under strict control. Less than a year after Suharto was deposed, militant Islamists began campaigns of violence and intimidation of Christians and other minorities. For a list, see here. An area which saw the worst of the conflict was Central Sulawesi, and in particular Poso.

Our readers will be familiar with our reports on the atrocities at Poso which resurfaced last year on October 29, when three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded on their way to school by Islamists. The attacks upon Christians continued until this year, with the last serious attack happening in March. The province of Central Sulawesi is comprised of an equal amount of Christians and Muslims.

Left to right - Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marinus Riwu, 48, Dominggus da Silva, 42

Central Sulawesi was involved in a virtual civil war between 2001 and 2002, in which 1,000 people were killed. This war was part of a wider war which raged in the Moluccan islands from 1999 to 2002. The instigator of this war was the Muslim militant Umar Jaffar Thalib and his army of paramilitary terrorists, the Lashkar Jihad. By the time Thalib had finished his campaigns of rampaging and massacres, 9,000 people had died. 3,900 Christians in the Moluccan islands were forcibly converted against their will, with most, male and female alike, forced to endure circumcision.

Though Lashkar Jihad was officially disbanded in 2003, reports from Poso and neighbouring locations suggest that its followers are still active, and are behind the recent campaigns of violence against Christians and Hindus.

Though Umar Jaffar Thalib ordered countless people to be brutally killed, including women and children, his trial in January 2003 for "sowing religious hatred" was a farce. He was acquitted. The Lashkar Jihad was said to have been formed with assistance of members of the government. While Thalib walks free and his "army" are also free, the situation of three Christians highlights both the despicable nature of the current president, and the disgraceful lack of justice for non-Muslims within Indonesia's legal system.

Three Catholics, Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu were due to have been executed by firing squad at midnight last night. They were convicted of inciting religious attacks and committing premeditated murder of Muslims at Poso in May 2000. Even if they were guilty of such a crime, it is selective justice to penalise three individuals and allow Umar Jaffar Thalib to go unpunished.

Their appeals for clemency had been refused by Indonesia's spineless president late last year, and he would have allowed this to happen, to appease the hardliners within his own government, even though there is ample evidence to suggest the men are innocent. The Telegraph and the BBC yesterday stated that the three men had been given a stay of execution for six days, after European leaders and Pope Benedict XVI had appealed for leniency. They were reprieved temporarily, only an hour before the sentence was due to be carried out after midnight on Saturday morning.

According to the national head of police, General Sutanto, the delay in executions was merely a "matter of timing". The country is about to undergo its festivities to celebrate Independence day on August 17, and Sutanto said they would be shot once these had finished.

The European Union's statement claimed the killings of the three men would damage the "fragile equilibrium that exists between different ethnic and religious groups. Whatever happens, we cannot accept their executions."

There are financial reasons for the president to listen to the European leaders, as he has recently been courting trade from both Britain and Holland. He recently entertained the insane Islamist president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but that is another matter. US senators and congressmen have similarly appealed to the president to show leniency, and have been ignored. Perhaps another reason is that on Friday 11 August, one day before the executions were due to take place, massive demonstrations took place, involving thousands of Indonesian citizens, states the Jakarta Post (subscription required).

The background to the case is this. The three men are not natives of Poso. They hail from East Nusa Tenggara, a province which lies directly south of Sulawesi island. Many Christians had fled here from the violence meted out by the Islamists of Lashkar Jihad during the Moluccan War.

World Net Daily, quoting from the charity Jubilee Campaign, states that Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu came to Poso in Sulawesi in 2000, after hearing reports of a church being burned. They entered the area where violence was raging to evacuate children from a church-led school in the village of Moengko, Poso City. A Muslim mob came to the church on May 23, 2000 and burned the church down. The children and the three men escaped before the building was razed.

Irwanto Hasan, who was a member of the Poso Police Intelligence Division, stated that days later he and the three men had been recruited into the "Red Group" a militant Christian outfit. Hasan said they had acted to dissuade the Red Group from acts of violence.

Amnesty International states that the three men were sentenced to death in April 2001, at Palu District Court. AI states that their trial did not "meet international standards of fairness. In particular, there are concerns that witness testimony provided as evidence by the defence may have been ignored by the Court when giving its verdict.
There were also reports that there were armed demonstrators outside the courthouse, demanding the conviction of the three men. Amnesty International is concerned that this intimidation may have affected the outcome of the trial."

There may still be time to campaign for leniency towards the three men. Traditionally, at Independence day, the president automatically reduces the sentences of convicts (subject to good behaviour), and maybe letters could be sent urging the president to show clemency in the spirit of Independence day. Details are found below of how to write to him.

But there are serious fears that to execute these three men will only re-ignite the tensions on Poso. We reported on May 10 that National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara admitted that he did not link three Islamists from Poso with earlier sectarian violence, not because of a lack of evidence, but because of fears that such actions "would inflame tensions".

Perhaps a retrial would be the safest thing to do, though I am sure there are Islamist elements who would not like their dirty washing to be aired again.

The conflicts on Poso began in earnest at Christmas 1998, emanating from an argument which took place outside a small mosque. As a consequence, the city was virtually destroyed by rioting (above), and churches were destroyed, such as the Oikumene Iradat Puri Church in Palu (below).

The following (with apologies for copyright) appeared in the Jakarta Post on Friday:

Rev. Irianto Kongkoli said that Fabianus Tibo's disclosure of the identities of several people believed to have masterminded the Poso violence received very little response from the authorities, and instead three innocent men were to be executed.

"I don't believe a farmer could have masterminded the conflict. They are only victims. The one who should be severely punished is Arief Patanga," Kongkoli said.

Arief Patanga was the Poso regent from 1992 to 1997. The Poso conflict began toward the end of his term. There have been allegations that in an attempt to win reelection he mobilized supporters, which eventually flared into religious violence.

The spokesman for the Central Sulawesi People's Coalition Against Violence (KoMa), Edmond Leonardo, voiced opposition to the use of capital punishment in Indonesia, including the execution of Tibo and his colleagues. He said the country had far more pressing problems to address, such as poverty and corruption.

Poso Center secretary Mahfud Masuara said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should form an independent fact-finding team to gather objective, honest and thorough information on the violence that occurred in Poso from 1998 to 2006.

"This team should determine the facts relating to the controversial death sentence of Tibo and his friends, and recommend a proper and just legal solution. In this regard, the government should postpone their executions," Masuara said.

Robert Tibo, Fabianus Tibo's son, said he was convinced his father was innocent. "My father is a victim of the interests of selfish people in Poso."

President
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
President RI,
Istana Merdeka,
Jakarta 10110,
INDONESIA
Fax: 00 62 21 345 2685 / 00 62 21 526 8726
Salutation: Dear President

Attorney General
Abdul Rahman Saleh,
Jaksa Agung,
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1,
Kebayoran Baru,
Jakarta Selantan 12130,
INDONESIA
Fax: 00 62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at August 13, 2006 8:21 PM

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