The Jakarta Post, April 03, 2006
No reprieve for Poso 3, officials say
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi
Prosecutors insisted Sunday the death sentence for three men convicted for their role
in the sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, would be carried out soon despite
mounting calls for a stay of execution.
Central Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office head M. Jahja Sibe said technical difficulties
were holding up the execution of Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marinus Riwu, 54, and
Dominggus da Silva, 43, three Christians who were convicted of masterminding a
series of attacks on Muslims in Poso in 2000.
"I need to reaffirm that the executions have not been carried out because the
preparations are incomplete," Sibe was quoted by Antara newswire as saying.
Last week, lawyers for the three filed a second plea for clemency with President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, while demanding the prosecution of 16 men they said
were the real masterminds of the Poso unrest.
"We will press ahead with the execution process of the three convicted men despite
their second appeal for a presidential pardon," Sibe said, adding a convict could only
make one appeal for presidential clemency.
Attorney General's Office spokesman Masyhudi Ridwan also said Saturday that
"technical reasons" forced prosecutors to delay the execution although he did not
explain the difficulties.
The office previously said the men, currently detained in a Palu penitentiary, would
face the firing squad by the end of March after their appeal for a presidential pardon
was turned down last December.
Local Christians and some Muslims have backed the demand to delay the executions
until the three men have been given the opportunity to testify in any future trial of the
people identified by the lawyers.
Thousands of Christians held a mass prayer gathering Saturday in the Central
Sulawesi town of Tentena to show their opposition to the executions.
There were tearful prayers asking for the salvation of the men.
Local Christian leader Rev. Renaldy Damanik, who led the prayer, expressed concern
the executions could trigger a new wave of sectarian hostilities in Poso.
"I can't imagine about what will happen after the execution, as hundreds of emotional
Christian people would carry the three men's coffins along the 200-kilometer-road
connecting Tagolu village to Poso and Beteleme in Morowali regency (all mainly
Christian areas," said Damanik, who was released from police custody in 2004 for
alleged involvement in the turmoil.
Damanik also said the execution would "bury the truth" of who orchestrated the
two-year conflict in Poso.
Other local Christian leaders have said Tibo, Da Silva and Riwo were scapegoats in a
scenario contrived by the political elite.
In an effort to maintain calm before the executions, local police and religious leaders
held a meeting Sunday evening, an activist said.
However, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno claimed the situation in
Poso was "under control".
Damanik also urged Yudhoyono to visit Poso to hear the local community's opposition
to the executions.
The three men were sentenced to death in March 2001 by the Palu District Court for
masterminding a series of attacks that killed a total of 200 Muslims in 2000.
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