Paras Indonesia, August, 14 2006 @ 09:23 pm
Baasyir's Group Accuses Pope Of Intervention
By: Roy Tupai
The radical Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), led by cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir,
says a last-minute appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to spare the lives of three Catholic militiamen facing imminent execution
was interference in Indonesia's domestic affairs.
MMI spokesman Fauzan Al Anshari on Sunday (13/8/06) said it was embarrassing
that a country as small as the Vatican, with an area of only 75 hectares (actually the
Vatican covers 44 hectares), could influence the leader of the world's most biggest
Muslim majority country, with an area of 2 million square kilometers. "You should hide
your face. This is a political insult and an embarrassment of the law," he was quoted
as saying by detikcom online news portal.
The Attorney General's Office had on August 11 announced that Fabianus Tibo (61),
Marinus Riwu (48) and Dominggus da Silva (42) would be executed by firing squad at
12.15am Saturday (12/8/06) because they had exhausted all avenues of appeal after
being convicted of premeditated murder and inciting deadly religious riots six years
ago in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
"Only technical problems could postpone the executions, such as the
unpreparedness of the firing squad or the absence of a religious official," said Attorney
General's Office spokesman I Wayan Pasek Suartha.
Hundreds of Christians in eastern Indonesia protested the planned executions,
claiming that authorities had failed to unmask the real masterminds of the sectarian
violence. Even some relatives of Muslim victims of the unrest said the executions
should be delayed until the instigators had been identified and punished.
The European Commission on Thursday issued a statement warning that the
executions could damage religious harmony. "News of the imminent execution of
three Indonesian citizens, which is all the more serious in the light of the fragile
equilibrium that exists between different ethnic and religious groups, cannot fail to
cause concern to Europe," said European Commission Vice President Franco
Frattini.
"We must discourage the culture of death and promote reason, dialogue, reciprocity,
understanding and, above all, respect for different societies and religions," he added.
Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano on Friday on sent the following
telegram to Yudhoyono: "I am writing to you in regard to the imminent executions of
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu. In the name of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI I turn to you again, Your Excellency, to seek your intervention on
humanitarian grounds, and in light of the particularity of the case, in order that an act
of clemency might be granted to these three Catholic citizens of your nation. In
adding my voice to others I would also note the position of the Catholic Church which
on numerous occasions has spoken out against the death penalty. Trusting that this
appeal made on behalf of His Holiness will meet with a positive outcome, I extend to
you my sentiments of esteem."
National Police chief General Sutanto on Friday night announced that authorities had
decided to postpone the executions until after the August 17 commemoration of
Independence Day. He said the Central Sulawesi Police and provincial prosecutor's
office were yet to determine a new date for the executions. "It is a matter of time. The
courts have decided that the executions should be carried out," he said.
Local reports said the provincial police and regional administration had decided to
delay the executions for at least three days, either because of a local power play
influenced by business interests or because they feared a backlash that could
overshadow Independence Day. In Jakarta, authorities strongly denied the Vatican's
letter prompted the postponement.
Some human rights groups have claimed the planned executions are merely an effort
to "balance" the impending death sentences for three Islamic militants involved in the
2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Amrozi
(43), Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (46) and Imam Samudra (38) are due to be shot by
firing squad on August 22 for their key roles in the attack. The Supreme Court last
year rejected their appeals. Their lawyers have said they will likely file for a final
judicial review of their cases, provided the hearing does not take place in Bali.
Islamic groups such as MMI feel the government stalled the executions of Tibo, Riwu
and da Silva because of foreign pressure. "The intervention was very painful. The fact
is, the death penalty decision followed the process of law from the lowest court to the
Supreme Court. Indeed, several judicial reviews were rejected," said MMI's Al Anshari.
He made his criticism at the launch of a book, 'Who Are the Terrorists? Who Are the
Khawarij?' at Al-Furqan Mosque at the headquarters of the Indonesian Islamic
Proselytizing Council.
He said the postponement of the executions is further evidence that the government is
not serious about upholding the law. "In fact we already do not trust the government
because it has been inconsistent. This is a nation based on law but it does not
promote equality in law enforcement. I will send a formal note of protest to the
government."
Amrozi's lawyer Mahendradatta also criticized the delayed executions, saying it
appeared the government was afraid of being accused of discrimination. Commenting
on calls by rights groups for death sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment,
he said the government should first enact necessary legislation but must not revoke
the death penalty for the Poso three.
Legislator Almuzammil Yusuf of the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party said he
hoped the postponement was not due to external pressure. "I could accept it if the
government had mentioned a certain date concerning the [length of the]
postponement. But a delay of post-August 17 is unclear, which could mean the
government has caved to pressure, and this would be ironic, embarrassing and reveal
the weakness of the law enforcers," he said.
He warned that indefinitely delaying the executions because of pressure would hurt
the feelings of hundreds or even thousands of victims of the Poso violence. "If the
government has empathy for Tibo and the others' fate, then it does not have the same
empathy for the hundreds of families impacted by Tibo and the others' cruel
slaughters of the past," he said.
Killers
Tibo, Riwu and da Silva were sentenced to death by Central Sulawesi's Palu District
Court on April 5, 2001. They were convicted of responsibility for a series of murders of
Muslims in Poso between May and June 2000. The killings were widely attributed to a
conflict between the local political elite and sparked communal violence that claimed
an initial death toll of between 200 to 500 people. The death toll climbed further after a
military-backed Islamic paramilitary group, Laskar Jihad, entered the province in
August 2001. No members of Laskar Jihad were jailed over the carnage.
While it is generally accepted that Tibo, Riwu and da Silva eagerly took part in the
carnage, they are not widely believed to have masterminded the violence. Critics say
the three are relatively poor and uneducated, and were therefore made scapegoats for
wealthy Protestant and Muslim politicians, as well as senior military officers, who
played major roles in instigating the unrest as they struggled for political and
economic power. Tibo and da Silva are from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara province,
while Riwu hails from nearby Kupang in West Timor.
National Police spokesman Inspector General Paulus Purwoko said officers in Central
Sulawesi were investigating 16 alleged masterminds of the Poso violence. "The
persons will continue to be investigated by the Central Sulawesi Police but the
investigation will be done slowly and carefully because the Poso case is different from
incidents in Java or other places," he was quoted as saying by state news agency
Antara.
He said the imminent execution of Tibo was unrelated to the investigation, adding that
police have no say in when the death row trio will face the firing squad. "The police
have no authority to determine the date of the execution. The executor is the
prosecutor. The police will only implement it whenever they are requested to."
Lawyers have argued three men must be kept alive because they are key witnesses
in the cases of the 16 alleged masterminds of the violence.
Tibo's lawyer Roy Rening said his client had received only informal notification of the
execution delay. "Tibo and his friends are grateful that God is still allowing them an
opportunity to live," he said.
Denials
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda on Saturday denied that foreign intervention
was behind the postponement of the executions. "The decision was absolutely
independent, as we are a sovereign state. What we have done is only to delay and not
revoke the execution," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adisutjipto on
Sunday said authorities in Central Sulawesi had decided to delay the executions
because they did not want to risk upsetting preparations for various Independence
Day activities.
He said the legal process had been followed so the case should "not be connected
with other matters" and it was now up to local authorities to determine the precise
date of the executions.
The minister played down the content of the Vatican's letter. "Indeed the president
has received several letters from various sides, including from the Pope. These letters
touched on many issues, one of them being about the matter of Tibo and co," he said.
Suartha of the Attorney General's Office also said the Pope's letter was not the
reason for the postponement. "It has been linked to the letter but the postponement
was not because of external influences," he said.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the president had considered several requests for
clemency for Tibo, Riwu and da Silva, but the only reason the executions had been
postponed was technical.
"Concerning the matter of Tibo, certainly there have been many letters, including from
the Pope, bishops and other religious groups. These were certainly considered by the
president… But this postponement is really due to a technical problem and is more
related to Indonesia's 61st Independence Day."
Sutanto on Sunday appealed for an end to the polemic over the postponement of the
executions. "We will deal with anyone who violates the law. We want to provide
protection from every violation of the law," he said.
Final Chance?
Rudi Satriyo, a criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia, said the Attorney
General's Office cannot carry out the executions because the three men on death row
still have the right to submit a second request for presidential clemency. He said the
right to submit a second request for clemency is outlined under Law No.22/2002 on
Clemency. "Article 2, Section 3 of the law states that a request for clemency can only
be submitted one time, except when two years have passed since the date of the first
clemency request being rejected," he said.
Appeals by Tibo, da Silva and Riwu were rejected by Central Sulawesi High Court on
May 17, 2001, and later by the Supreme Court on November 19, 2001. The three in
September 2002 sought a judicial review of their death sentences, based on the
testimony of a former policeman, Irwanto Hasan, who was dismissed from the force
for his involvement in the sectarian violence. Hasan allegedly changed his account of
Tibo's guilt but the Supreme Court decided against staging a retrial.
Yudhoyono on November 10, 2005, rejected the trio's appeal for clemency. Satriyo
said they should be allowed to make a second request in November 2007.
But Suartha said there was no chance of reprieve. "Their two appeals and clemency
request have already taken, so the matter is final." He said prosecutors and police
would soon meet to discuss the date of the executions.
'Pawns in the Game'
Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) chairman Johnson
Panjaitan said the three men on death row were only pawns in a game that had many
players. "The Tibo case has produced many 'projects'. There was the special
committee in parliament, the peace project, and the struggle for the implementation of
authority at the local level," he said.
He said the postponement of the executions will give the players a further opportunity
to undertake more 'projects' to serve their interests. "Tibo is only part of the process of
a game. There are many scenarios here, considering that where Tibo is being held is
the trade route for arms and explosives," he said, referring to the smuggling of
weapons through Sulawesi.
Panjaitan said executing Tibo and the others would not resolve the Poso violence
case. "A brief postponement is not correct. There ought to be a postponement during
which it can be comprehensively investigated whether it was true that Tibo triggered
the Poso violence."
He urged the government to exercise wisdom and avoid being provoked by vested
interest groups. "I myself disagree with the death penalty because the right to end a
life should be in the hands of God, not the police," he said.
Amnesty
Amnesty International lauded the decision to delay the executions. "Amnesty
International welcomes the recent stay of executions of Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da
Silva and Marinus Riwu and urges the Indonesian government to immediately
transform this act of clemency into the commutation of their death sentences. The
organization also calls on the authorities to review their trial, which was reportedly
unfair."
The London-based group has said the trial may not have been fair there were reports
of demonstrators armed with stones outside the courthouse, demanding that the three
be sentenced to death, and their legal representatives were subjected to intimidation
including death threats. There are also concerns that witness testimony provided as
evidence by the defense might have been ignored by the court.
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