Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 26, 2006 17:33:43 GMT -5
Violence flares after 3 Christians are executed in Indonesia
Violence erupted in several spots across Indonesia after 3 Christians
convicted of leading a militia that killed Muslims were executed.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu were shot by police
firing squad shortly after midnight in religiously divided Central
Sulawesi for masterminding some of the deadly unrest that rocked the
province in 2000-01.
Riots broke out early Friday in Atambua, a town on predominantly Christian
western Timor Island, with some 200 inmates from the local prison
escaping, the national deputy police chief Adang Daradjatun told reporters
in Jakarta.
"There was a demonstration of around 1,000 people. They damaged the state
prosecutor's office and broke into the jail," he said, adding that the
situation had since calmed.
"Of 200 inmates, 20 have voluntarily returned and I call for the other 180
to return as soon as possible," the police official said.
Father Yustus, a priest from the Atambua diocese, told AFP that he and 4
of his colleagues had placated the rock-throwing mob, which looted several
shops.
"We spoke to around 1,000 people in the field. They are now heading back
to their homes," he said.
The deputy police chief said unrest had also hit southeast Sulawesi's
Tentena and Beteleme, the hometown of 2 of the men executed.
But he noted that the unrest had been directed at authorities rather than
Muslims and emphasized it was not a resurgence of the religious conflict
that flared 6 years ago.
The executions in Indonesia-the world's most populous Muslim nation-have
raised fears of fresh communal violence in Central Sulawesi, where
Christians and Muslims live in roughly equal numbers.
More than 4,000 security forces had fanned out across the province in
recent days in anticipation of the executions.
In the provincial capital Palu, about 2,000 mourners packed the main
Catholic Church to pray for the men early Friday.
The trio of farmers, whom activists say may have been involved in the 2000
violence but almost certainly did not mastermind it, had requested that
their bodies be present at the Mass but authorities turned them down.
The body of da Silva was buried just hours after the execution at a
cemetery outside Palu, his dirt grave marked with a simple white board
bearing his name written in black.
The bodies of the other two men were being transported by plane and
ambulance to Beteleme, where preparations for a burial were under way.
The three were initially scheduled to be shot in August, but authorities
granted a last-minute reprieve shortly after Pope Benedict XVI issued a
plea for clemency, though a link was denied.
After the executions, spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican was
saddened by the "painful" news, calling capital punishment a "defeat for
humanity."
Amnesty International said it was "deeply disappointed that despite the
debate on the death penalty that the case had sparked across Indonesia,
the state went ahead and killed these three men."
Rinaldy Damanik, the leader of the Central Sulawesi Christian Church,
which includes some 469 churches across the province, said he was stepping
down to protest the killings.
"I have resigned . . . This is a promise I made to Tibo on January 10,
2001. I am disappointed by the outcome of the Poso case," he said,
referring to the area where the violence the men allegedly participated in
took place.
The case of the 3 poor farmers drew international concern from rights
activists, who criticized the fairness of their trial and saw the men as
scapegoats targeted while few others were convicted over the violence and
those most responsible are still on the run.
Supporters of the 3 have suggested that their cases became politicized and
linked to those of 3 Islamic militants who are on death row for their
roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
(source: Manila Times)
Violence erupted in several spots across Indonesia after 3 Christians
convicted of leading a militia that killed Muslims were executed.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu were shot by police
firing squad shortly after midnight in religiously divided Central
Sulawesi for masterminding some of the deadly unrest that rocked the
province in 2000-01.
Riots broke out early Friday in Atambua, a town on predominantly Christian
western Timor Island, with some 200 inmates from the local prison
escaping, the national deputy police chief Adang Daradjatun told reporters
in Jakarta.
"There was a demonstration of around 1,000 people. They damaged the state
prosecutor's office and broke into the jail," he said, adding that the
situation had since calmed.
"Of 200 inmates, 20 have voluntarily returned and I call for the other 180
to return as soon as possible," the police official said.
Father Yustus, a priest from the Atambua diocese, told AFP that he and 4
of his colleagues had placated the rock-throwing mob, which looted several
shops.
"We spoke to around 1,000 people in the field. They are now heading back
to their homes," he said.
The deputy police chief said unrest had also hit southeast Sulawesi's
Tentena and Beteleme, the hometown of 2 of the men executed.
But he noted that the unrest had been directed at authorities rather than
Muslims and emphasized it was not a resurgence of the religious conflict
that flared 6 years ago.
The executions in Indonesia-the world's most populous Muslim nation-have
raised fears of fresh communal violence in Central Sulawesi, where
Christians and Muslims live in roughly equal numbers.
More than 4,000 security forces had fanned out across the province in
recent days in anticipation of the executions.
In the provincial capital Palu, about 2,000 mourners packed the main
Catholic Church to pray for the men early Friday.
The trio of farmers, whom activists say may have been involved in the 2000
violence but almost certainly did not mastermind it, had requested that
their bodies be present at the Mass but authorities turned them down.
The body of da Silva was buried just hours after the execution at a
cemetery outside Palu, his dirt grave marked with a simple white board
bearing his name written in black.
The bodies of the other two men were being transported by plane and
ambulance to Beteleme, where preparations for a burial were under way.
The three were initially scheduled to be shot in August, but authorities
granted a last-minute reprieve shortly after Pope Benedict XVI issued a
plea for clemency, though a link was denied.
After the executions, spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican was
saddened by the "painful" news, calling capital punishment a "defeat for
humanity."
Amnesty International said it was "deeply disappointed that despite the
debate on the death penalty that the case had sparked across Indonesia,
the state went ahead and killed these three men."
Rinaldy Damanik, the leader of the Central Sulawesi Christian Church,
which includes some 469 churches across the province, said he was stepping
down to protest the killings.
"I have resigned . . . This is a promise I made to Tibo on January 10,
2001. I am disappointed by the outcome of the Poso case," he said,
referring to the area where the violence the men allegedly participated in
took place.
The case of the 3 poor farmers drew international concern from rights
activists, who criticized the fairness of their trial and saw the men as
scapegoats targeted while few others were convicted over the violence and
those most responsible are still on the run.
Supporters of the 3 have suggested that their cases became politicized and
linked to those of 3 Islamic militants who are on death row for their
roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
(source: Manila Times)