International Herald Tribune, Thursday, August 10, 2006
Death sentences for Christians questioned in Indonesia
By Raymond Bonner The New York Times
JAKARTA The planned executions of three Christian men convicted in connection with
sectarian violence that killed hundreds of people in Indonesia several years ago are
raising questions about the role that their religion has in their facing a firing squad on
Saturday, as well as broader questions about the Indonesian judicial system.
The men, two farmers and a mechanic, were convicted and sentenced to death on
charges of having been leaders of a Christian militia that killed more than 200 Muslims
in May 2000, in Poso, a coastal town in Central Sulawesi. The province was racked
by religious violence from 1998 to 2001.
After winding through the Indonesian judicial system for five years, including a pardon
request that was denied by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, their case has
now become entangled with that of three Muslim men convicted, and sentenced to
death, for their involvement in the bombings of the Bali nightclubs in the Oct. 2002.
They are scheduled to be executed later this month.
In interviews on Thursday, two government officials said that for political reasons, it
would be very difficult for the government to proceed with the execution of the Bali
bombers, if it did not first execute the Christians from Poso. The officials spoke on the
condition that they not be identified because they were expressing views that ran
counter to the official government position, which is that the men had been fairly tried
and had their appeals denied.
Indonesia's population of more than 240 million is overwhelmingly Muslim, and
although most are moderate, politicians are wary of offending conservative Muslims,
who appear to be gaining in numbers.
As events unfolded Thursday, it was not clear, however, that the government would be
able to proceed with the execution of the Bali bombers later this month. A lawyer for
the men, Mahendra Datta, said in an interview that he was planning to file an appeal
for his clients. Under Indonesian law, if he does in fact appeal - he has sent mixed
messages in recent weeks - the executions would be automatically stayed.
Mahendra also questioned why the government was proceeding so rapidly to execute
his clients, who were convicted in 2003, while the men from Central Sulawesi were
convicted in 2001.
The condemned men from Poso are Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marianus Riwu, 48, and
Dominggus da Silva, 42.
In 2001, a three-judge court, after hearing testimony from 28 witnesses, found that
Tibo was the leader of a Christian militia called the "Red Group," that Da Silva was
one of his commanders and that Riwu participated in the killings.
On one day during the May 2000 riots, the Christian gang members, armed with guns
and machetes, killed scores of Muslim men, women and children who had sought
protection in a religious school.
The trial was marked by troubling "irregularities," said David McRae, a specialist on
the Poso violence at The Australia National University in Canberra.
One prosecution witness, for instance, slapped the three defendants before taking the
stand, McRae said by telephone from Canberra.
The trial was also affected by the atmosphere at the time, which saw crowds of angry
Muslims gathered outside the courthouse during the trial, sometimes throwing rocks,
McRae said.
More specific questions have been raised about the role of Tibo, who was the principle
defendant and has become the public voice for the condemned men.
He has not denied his involvement in the riots, but he has vigorously disputed he was
the mastermind.
"There is a very strong sense that whatever Tibo's role might have been, and it's fairly
unclear, he certainly was not the mastermind" said Sidney Jones, director of the
International Crises Group office in Jakarta. "So it seems giving the death penalty in
this case is just extraordinarily over the top."
During his trial, Tibo gave the court the names of 16 individuals whom he said were
the coordinators. Several were senior Christian church leaders.
Some Muslim leaders have called for the government to undertake a thorough
investigation of these allegations, which it has not done, and for postponing Tibo's
execution so that he can testify.
Several Christian groups are also leading protests against the execution.
Under Indonesian law, the place of the execution and exact date are secret.
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