Paras Indonesia, September, 28 2006 @ 12:37 am
Why Tibo & Co Had To Die?
By: Lian Gogali
"Truth and justice only belongs to God," sighed Robertus Tibo minutes after receiving
the news that his father, Fabianus Tibo, along with Dominggus da Silva and Marinus
Riwu, had been executed.
The government finally sent Fabianus Tibo, Marinus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva to
the firing squad despite pressure from various groups to cancel, or at least delay, the
execution in order to uncover the real masterminds of violence in Poso. Calls to
abolish death penalty from the Indonesian legal system were also ignored. So were
suggestions that the execution would spark new clashes. The government is directing
the people towards a black-and-white case of pros and cons, humanity vs. justice,
while ignoring the facts behind the Poso conflict.
[Editor's note: Ousted Central Sulawesi Police Chief Oegroseno told a Paras
Indonesia source that on August 4, 2006 he had reported to the Indonesian police
headquarters, the Attorney General and the State Intelligence Body (BIN) that
executing the three men would lead to disturbances in West Timor. But the respond
he received from the headquarters was, "Mind your own business in Central
Sulawesi".]
The government's determination to send the men to their deaths was surely thought
out carefully. We can be sure it has nothing to do with being bound by laws, as
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his proxies have been saying. The law vs.
humanity. Which serves the interests better?
First of all, Tibo, Riwu and da Silva were key witnesses to uncover some of the facts
behind the past violence in Poso and the surrounding areas (including the
Sintuwulembah village massacre blamed on them). The three presented 16 names of
people whom they claimed masterminded the conflict. But none of the people in the
list was ever called in court. In reality, the execution of the three 'had to be done' in
order to cover the real actors. And not only that the government concealed the facts, it
has also violated its own Regulation No. 13/2006 on the Protection of Witnesses and
Victims.
Secondly, the execution plan was made to be an on-again-off-again affair, making the
whole ordeal looked like such a drama. This soap opera effectively rub salt to old
wounds, particularly those of the refugees who still live in camps. These "wounds"
have become useful in managing victims' emotions and effectively break down civil
society movements. The execution drama also had national impact, causing religious
prejudices. Tibo and co vs. Amrozi and co. Christian vs. Islam. This collective memory
made it easy for the government to use in making its decisions based on religions.
The climax of the drama was the executions of Tibo, Riwu and da Silva. Never before
in the history of death penalty Indonesia where an execution was strictly guarded and
sealed with secrecy. There were at least three fully armed police units guarding the
Petobo prison. The yellow police lines surrounded the compound's 1-kilometer radius.
Police and the Armed Forces (TNI) also patrolled intensively the streets of Central
Sulawesi Capital Palu, particularly in the provincial border areas. Prior to the
execution, 800 TNI soldiers from the Infantry Battalion 117 Raksatama were again
deployed to Palu. Furthermore, North Sulawesi Police sent two Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) units to add the armed muscles in Central Sulawesi. Poso Police Chief
AKBP Rudi Safahriadi deployed more than 2000 police units to what he regarded as
Poso's most important area – the Bukaka company complex, owned by the brother of
Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The three men were refused their last requests to be accompanied by their priest,
Father Jimmy Tumbelaka. Police cited security reason. Others cited secrecy. But it
did not stop there. Not only that the men's rights to live were violated by the state
through the court's death sentence, even after they were already shot dead, their
bodies were immediately buried at a location determined in secret by the police. This
was a violation of Article 15, Presidential Decree No. 2/1964 on the Codes of
Conducts Regarding Death Row Prisoners which states that family members or
friends have the right to manage the burial of prisoners. These series of violations were
also what causing the extreme anger and disappointment in West Timor and Tentena,
Poso. Therefore, whoever's obsession to spark anger and anarchy with those
organized provocations eventually got what he/she/they wanted.
Like in the past, there are still parties that wanted to maintain the Poso unrest. The
execution drama was just one of the plots. It was certainly not a case of following
procedure, but it was certainly following a bigger scenario to use the wounds caused
by the politicizing of memory in an identity-based society. Rubbing salt to the wounds
from previous conflicts and keeping the cuts open so that they can always be used in
cutting off civil society movements.
The people are paying the social cost of the execution. Therefore, the true
masterminds of the Poso conflict must be uncovered to face the consequences.
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
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