Jubilee Campaign USA, March 18, 2003
Rev. Damanik on Trial
Dear Friends
PALU, Indonesia - The prosecution called its first witnesses yesterday in the case of
Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, a humanitarian aid worker being tried in Palu, the capitol of
Central Sulawesi, on a dubious weapons possession charge. A Jubilee Campaign
team attending the trial heard the testimonies of two policemen regarding the incident
leading to Damanik's arrest.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to attend the trial and are pleased to see that
proper procedures are being followed in the case," said Ann Buwalda, director of
Jubilee Campaign USA. "However, we were shocked by the glaring factual
inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution's key witnesses."
Today's proceedings mark the first step of the witness selection process, an
Indonesian criminal procedure whereby the court vets potential witnesses. In an
intensive series of questions, Damanik's defense team, led by Johnson Panjaitan of
PBHI (Indonesian Legal Assistance Center), hammered the first witness regarding the
contradictions between his in-court testimony and the statements made in the police
reports. During one line of questioning, the witness repeatedly responded that he
could not remember, prompting the Chief Judge to question whether he had really
forgotten what took place or merely could not remember his script.
Prior to the proceedings, the Jubilee Campaign team accompanied Panjaitan to his
morning meeting with Chief Judge I Nyoman Sonanada. Speaking for Jubilee
Campaign, Buwalda expressed the international community's concern regarding Rev.
Damanik's trial. The judge assured the team that procedure will be followed and that
the final decision will be based solely on the evidence presented. This commitment to
procedure and justice is evidenced by the recent decision to drop language from a
change of venue order issued by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights that
labeled Damanik a "provocateur."
For several days preceding the trial, Jubilee Campaign met with leaders and local
groups from both the Christian and Muslim communities. These discussions focused
both on the general situation in Central Sulawesi and, in particular, Rev. Damanik's
case. In contrast to the prevailing view that Damanik's case involves religious conflict,
meeting participants consistently stated that the case goes beyond sectarian bounds.
This view is mirrored by Damanik's defense team, 80% of which are Muslims. The
participants also expressed a common desire that fair proceedings result in a just
outcome.
During the trial, court intelligence personnel privately reported that an estimated
seventy members of a Muslim extremist group from Poso, who had come to view the
proceedings, had been stopped some distance from the courthouse. This is the first
known large turnout of members of this group at any of these hearings.
Rev. Damanik was arrested in Jakarta on September 11, 2002, after accepting an
invitation by the Indonesia National Police (Mabes POLRI) as a witness to testify
regarding the August 2002 violence in the Poso district of Central Sulawessi. Damanik
was charged with the illegal possession of homemade firearms that were allegedly
confiscated during a search of his vehicle in a village in Poso.
On December 22, 2002, Damanik was covertly transferred to Palu to stand trial. It is
believed by many that Damanik is being framed in an attempt to blame Christians in
general and Damanik in particular for the instability and violence that has plagued
Central Sulawesi since 1998.
Jubilee Campaign will be releasing a full report from its trip to Indonesia that will
include full details of its findings regarding Rev. Damanik's case. To receive this report
or for more information about Jubilee Campaign, please contact
jubilee@jubileecampaign.org.
Sincerely,
Ann Buwalda
Jubilee Campaign USA
email: jubilee@jubileecampaign.org
voice: 703-503-0791
web: http://www.jubileecampaign.org
This email was sent to shortcut2justy@yahoo.com.au, by Jubilee Campaign USA.
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