Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 24, 2006 5:04:37 GMT -5
Execution of 3 Christian militants matter of law, not religion: Hassan
NEW YORK (AP): Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said this week's execution of three Roman Catholic militants for bloody attacks on Muslims six years ago was a matter of justice not religion.
"The case was a pure enforcement of law. It has nothing to do with the questions of tolerance between Islam and other religions," Hassan said of the executions Friday that have sparked rioting by Christians in the world's most populous Muslim country.
"There was a misperception here," the minister told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. "All the legal remedies have been exhausted."
Hassan's comments came as the Vatican expressed "great regret" over the execution Friday by firing squad of the three men who were accused of leading a Christian militia that launched a series of attacks in 2000 -- including a machete and gun assaulton an Islamic school that left at least 70 people dead.
The executions have sparked fresh sectarian clashes in parts of central and eastern Indonesia, with Christian mobs looting Muslim stores, freeing hundreds of prisoners and torching cars and police posts.
The government's decision to execute the three Christians raised questions about the role religion played in handing down punishment for the unrest in Central Sulawesi province, which largely ended with the signing of a peace deal four years ago.
Only a handful of Muslims were convicted, all to 15 years in jail or less, for their roles in the sectarian violence that killed at least 1,000 people from both sides in Sulawesi from 1998 to 2002.
Human rights workers say the trial of the three Christians was a sham. But Hassan said the cases were reviewed by local courts, provincial courts and the supreme court. The government, he said, must now meet with religious leaders to convince them that justice had been carried out without consideration of religion.
"We have a truly independent judiciary," Hassan said. "This is a new Indonesia."
The three Christians were put to death as the government prepares for the executions of three Muslim militants convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Hassan also spoke about the fight against terrorists in Indonesia, which the United States sees as a bulwark against extremism in Southeast Asia. He said his country had been successful in its battle against the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jamaah Islamiyah and other groups.
"We do not belittle their potential," Hassan said. "While our law enforcement has practically defeated 99 percent, even if 1 percent is left, that will allow them to launch another terrorist attack, that will be damaging. There's no room for rest."
www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060924114201&irec=1
NEW YORK (AP): Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said this week's execution of three Roman Catholic militants for bloody attacks on Muslims six years ago was a matter of justice not religion.
"The case was a pure enforcement of law. It has nothing to do with the questions of tolerance between Islam and other religions," Hassan said of the executions Friday that have sparked rioting by Christians in the world's most populous Muslim country.
"There was a misperception here," the minister told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. "All the legal remedies have been exhausted."
Hassan's comments came as the Vatican expressed "great regret" over the execution Friday by firing squad of the three men who were accused of leading a Christian militia that launched a series of attacks in 2000 -- including a machete and gun assaulton an Islamic school that left at least 70 people dead.
The executions have sparked fresh sectarian clashes in parts of central and eastern Indonesia, with Christian mobs looting Muslim stores, freeing hundreds of prisoners and torching cars and police posts.
The government's decision to execute the three Christians raised questions about the role religion played in handing down punishment for the unrest in Central Sulawesi province, which largely ended with the signing of a peace deal four years ago.
Only a handful of Muslims were convicted, all to 15 years in jail or less, for their roles in the sectarian violence that killed at least 1,000 people from both sides in Sulawesi from 1998 to 2002.
Human rights workers say the trial of the three Christians was a sham. But Hassan said the cases were reviewed by local courts, provincial courts and the supreme court. The government, he said, must now meet with religious leaders to convince them that justice had been carried out without consideration of religion.
"We have a truly independent judiciary," Hassan said. "This is a new Indonesia."
The three Christians were put to death as the government prepares for the executions of three Muslim militants convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Hassan also spoke about the fight against terrorists in Indonesia, which the United States sees as a bulwark against extremism in Southeast Asia. He said his country had been successful in its battle against the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jamaah Islamiyah and other groups.
"We do not belittle their potential," Hassan said. "While our law enforcement has practically defeated 99 percent, even if 1 percent is left, that will allow them to launch another terrorist attack, that will be damaging. There's no room for rest."
www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060924114201&irec=1