Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 13, 2006 16:09:53 GMT -5
Death penalty not linked to religion, president says
Oslo (ANTARA News) - Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked all parties including the international community here on Wednesday not to link death penalties with the religions of the convicts receiving the penalty.
"Do not associate any crime with the religious identity of the convict. Death penalty is imposed upon anyone committing a serious crime," he said at a joint press conference with Norway President Jens Stoltenberg after meeting at the latter`s office that day.
He made the statement when asked why only three people namely Fabianus Tibo, Domingus da Silva and Marinus Riwu who were all Christians that had been sentenced to death in connection with the past conflict between Moslems and Christians in Poso, Central Sulawesi while no Moslem had been arrested.
"That is not true," President Yudhoyono said.
He said that many people had been tried in connetion with several conflicts that had happened in Indonesia. He said he could not tell one by one their names but "trust us that we will always respect law supremacy and as a leader I must be fair and assure that anyone found guilty must be justly punished."
Regarding conflicts in Poso and other regions in the country the president said that there were two aspects the government had to deal with namely conclusion of the conflict and law enforcement.
He said the government had to strengthen the harmonious relationship among community members and develop tolerance and brotherhood among them.
At the same time he said the government also had to uphold law supremacy over any crime in the country.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg meanwhile said on the occasion about the importance of all parties to respect human rights.
The district court in Palu sentenced Tibo and his two friends for being the main actors behind the attack on Moslems on May 23, 2009 that left 191 dead. (*)
Copyright © 2006 ANTARA
Oslo (ANTARA News) - Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked all parties including the international community here on Wednesday not to link death penalties with the religions of the convicts receiving the penalty.
"Do not associate any crime with the religious identity of the convict. Death penalty is imposed upon anyone committing a serious crime," he said at a joint press conference with Norway President Jens Stoltenberg after meeting at the latter`s office that day.
He made the statement when asked why only three people namely Fabianus Tibo, Domingus da Silva and Marinus Riwu who were all Christians that had been sentenced to death in connection with the past conflict between Moslems and Christians in Poso, Central Sulawesi while no Moslem had been arrested.
"That is not true," President Yudhoyono said.
He said that many people had been tried in connetion with several conflicts that had happened in Indonesia. He said he could not tell one by one their names but "trust us that we will always respect law supremacy and as a leader I must be fair and assure that anyone found guilty must be justly punished."
Regarding conflicts in Poso and other regions in the country the president said that there were two aspects the government had to deal with namely conclusion of the conflict and law enforcement.
He said the government had to strengthen the harmonious relationship among community members and develop tolerance and brotherhood among them.
At the same time he said the government also had to uphold law supremacy over any crime in the country.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg meanwhile said on the occasion about the importance of all parties to respect human rights.
The district court in Palu sentenced Tibo and his two friends for being the main actors behind the attack on Moslems on May 23, 2009 that left 191 dead. (*)
Copyright © 2006 ANTARA