[Kabar-indonesia] Perpetrators of Poso riot identified by police [+Firing squads]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: JP: Death by firing squad challenged;
and JP Op-Ed: Poso, a matter of law, politics 
and religion 

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Police identify perpetrators of Taripa riot 

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso

The Central Sulawesi Police say they have identified four people whom they 
believe were involved in the disturbances in Taripa, East Pamona district, Poso 
regency, on Sept. 29. They are still at large.

Two police cars and two motorcycles, and the Taripa police post were damaged 
in the incident. 

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Kilat said Monday that 
the police had not yet made any arrests as they still lacked sufficient 
evidence. They are now questioning the four as witnesses after they were identified as 
having participated in the riot. 

"There are some legal steps we have to go through before charging and 
arresting them," said Kilat. 

The disturbances followed last week's execution of three Christians by firing 
squad in Palu. 

The three were executed after being convicted of inciting violence against 
Muslims in 2000. The executions went ahead despite the opposition of many 
Christians. 

Sporadic unrest in Christian-dominated areas erupted after the executions. 

According to Kilat, most of the suspects are from outside Taripa, but are 
from within the Poso area. The instigators had taken advantage of the padungku 
(harvest) festival in Taripa village, which was attended by thousands of people 
from a number of villages in East Pamona district, as well as neighboring 
North Pamona. 

The festival is usually marked by heavy drinking. "The provocateurs benefited 
from the situation to mobilize the crowd," said Kilat. 

The situation in Poso appears to be getting worse, with angry mobs blocking 
the Trans-Sulawesi highway. In Kayamanya in Poso city, a public bus plying the 
Parigi-Makassar route was stopped and its passengers attacked and beaten. 

One passenger, Jelin, 20, who suffered wounds to his back and head, is still 
being treated at the Poso General Hospital. 

Kilat said that the attack was carried out by about five unidentified persons 
wearing masks. 

Another victim, Ebiet, said that he and his three companions were abducted 
for two days in South Pamona. However, he was eventually freed although two of 
his friends, who were of a different faith, continued to be detained. 

Ebiet said in Palu on Saturday that the assailants, numbering around 10 
people, wore masks. They appeared out of the bushes as Ebiet's car approached. 
"Four of us were in the car. Myself and a friend of mine were released but they 
kept the other two, who are Christians," he said. 

A police post was set on fire in Poso on Sunday. The arson attack took place 
as Muslim residents in Gerbang Rejo were enjoying their breaking-of-the-fast 
meals. They tried to put out the fire but to no avail. No one saw the 
perpetrators. 

In Kawua and Sayo, gunshots were heard in the two subdistricts, which mark 
the demarcation line between Christian and Muslim communities, at around 10:30 
p.m. local time. A resident from Lombogia subdistrict, Muhammad Rasyid, said he 
heard five shots, adding that local people had remained calm. 

Meanwhile, in order to help contain the situation, a meeting between 
representatives of the Muslim and Christian communities was held Saturday under the 
sponsorship of the Poso regental administration. 

The meeting was chaired by Poso Regent Piet Inkiriwang, who urged religious 
figures to help persuade their followers not to be easily provoked by third 
parties. 

------------------------------------

[from yesterday's JP]

The Jakarta Post
October 2, 2006

Death by firing squad challenged 

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While religious and human rights activists are pushing for an end to capital 
punishment, lawyers for the executed Poso trio and the three Bali bombers 
on death row are calling for a change in way executions are carried out. 

Speaking at a discussion here Saturday, they argued the execution of death 
row convicts by a firing squad was "inhuman" and against constitutionally 
guaranteed religious rights. 

Lawyers for the two groups demanded the government review the 1964 law that 
regulates the application of the death penalty. 

Alamsyah Hanafiah, a lawyer for Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da 
Silva -- the three Christians who were executed last week in Central Sulawesi 
-- said death by lethal injection was the most appropriate way for convicts 
to die because convicts were put to sleep first. 

"Being injected is more humane, as the convict does not know the exact time 
he will die," Alamsyah said. Many religions taught believers that they would 
never know their exact time of death, he said. 

The three Christian men were sentenced to death for their roles in 
instigating and leading an attack on Muslims in the religiously divided town of Poso, 
Central Sulawesi, in 2000. 

The families of the men, their lawyers, human rights activists and lawmakers 
have accused the authorities of acting illegally when executing the three on 
Sept. 22. 

There also have been allegations the trio were beaten and tortured before 
being shot dead after bruising unrelated to the shootings was allegedly found on 
their bodies. 

Achmad Michdan, a lawyer for Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali 
Gufron alias Mukhlas -- the three Muslim terrorists on death row for the 2002 Bali 
attack -- said the execution should be carried out according to the beliefs of 
the convicts. 

Amrozi reportedly told his lawyers he was ready to be executed in a way that 
was in line with Islamic teachings. 

Michdan said the three Bali bombers would file a request to the 
Constitutional Court to review the 1964 law on Oct. 8 or 9, as the regulation mandating 
death by firing squad was against the Constitution that protected people's rights 
to freedom of religion. 

Amrozi and his friends also planned to file a request to the Supreme Court to 
review their convictions through the Denpasar District Court, Michdan said 
without specifying any date. 

The lawyer argued that the three bombers could not be charged retroactively 
under the antiterror law because the crime they committed took place in 2002. 

"The law was passed six days after the Bali bombings," he said. 

Michdan denied reports the Bali bombers had chosen to be decapitated instead 
of being shot dead by a firing squad. "Amrozi never specified any such 
method," he said. 

The lawyer said it was up to ulema to determine the most appropriate way to 
execute Muslim convicts. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), he added, had the 
authority to rule on this matter. 

According to Michdan, Amrozi would prefer death by lethal injection. "Times 
have changed and so has civilization, I think we could accept injection." 

Abdul Halim Ritonga, a senior prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office, 
said the government would consider changing the execution procedures but it 
would mean the law would have to be revised. "I think that's a good subject to 
be talked about further," he said. 

However, until the law was amended, Halim said people should respect the 
existing punishment. 

The government would go ahead with plans to execute 97 convicts currently on 
death row despite controversy over the death penalty, he said. 

Halim said his office had sent letters to 30 death-row convicts, advising 
them to seek all available legal avenues to appeal their death sentences -- 
filing requests for presidential clemency and case reviews with the Supreme Court. 
 
--------------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Op-Ed

Poso, a matter of law, politics and religion 

Asher Tauran, Jakarta

Both the editorial Miscarriage of justice and G.L Aditjondro's article Why 
should they fear the (angry) masses in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 23 suggest 
legal flaws and political motives behind the execution of the "Poso three". 

I very much agree with the views expressed. But I simply cannot help but 
conclude that far more is to be read between the lines of these articles. However, 
I am not certain whether they were meant to be read using this kind of 
approach. 

When, for example, the article questioned why the men's last wishes, 
regarding a Roman Catholic burial ceremony, were denied, what crossed my mind was not 
the fear of the masses' reaction, nor the "sense of guilt" of those 
responsible for this "state-sanctioned murder". 

My mind was filled with the shadows of the Santa Cruz massacre, those very 
traumatic pictures that reached all corners of the world except for Indonesian 
television sets. And as we all know the result of that massive miscarriage of 
justice, it is hardly a surprise that those memories are still silently 
haunting the nation with venom even today. 

In other words, the Santa Maria church in Palu was never going to set the 
stage for mourning over those slain bodies, regardless of the feelings of the 
catholic community and the people of Flores, west Timor and surrounding islands 
in particular. 

The determination of the authorities only raises the suspicion that the root 
of this countries' fear lies in its helplessness. 

If the mere mention of this makes some people in this country and the state 
uncomfortable, this only demonstrates the country's lack of confidence in its 
own policies, fed by an anxiety about self-fulfilling prophecies. 

If the state believes the execution was carried out after following all legal 
procedures and that we should abide by the "law" of this nation, this simply 
sounds hollow as it refutes the overall belief that the "law" in this country 
is up for auction and hardly independent. If the state believes that the legal 
process had nothing to do with religion, it has lost touch with reality. 

Although these convictions and executions were very much about law and 
politics, they also underlined the relevance of religion. As citizens of Indonesia 
we are constantly reminded of our religious origins. 

In fact, I believe that in this country we are almost entirely defined by it. 
Politics are often a reflection of our religious beliefs. Our politics will 
never betray our religion as by definition it is self-preserving. The trial of 
the Poso three was very much about belonging to one religion and appeasing 
members of the other. 

This country's "obsession" with a sense of belonging to a certain religion is 
evident in our identity cards, our names, our "civil laws" our friends, our 
communities, our spouses, the fill-in forms at local stores, it has even become 
a commodity, an asset or liability. 

Our laws and customs have accommodated religious segregation and our views 
today are colored by the religious spectacles we choose to wear. The bottom line 
is that in my view, law, politics and religion in this country are 
intertwined and in complete symbiosis. 

In case the state has not noticed, its version of "justice and fairness" over 
the last decade has created a profound disdain, which has been brewing 
especially among ethnic and religious minority groups in this country. There is a 
growing sense that oil and water do not mix. And that such an attitude is 
tacitly condoned by the state, though it may claim otherwise. 

When preventing religious ceremonies from taking place in the interest of 
public order, like the burial ceremony of the Poso three, the state law, politics 
and religion again "cross swords". I am afraid that whether the state likes 
it or not, through its own making no differentiation is possible between these 
three elements in the eyes of society, even when appeasing claims to the 
contrary are made in public. 

The President had his chance to distance himself from this web of "national 
intrigue". His clemency, for any death penalty regardless of guilt or 
innocence, would have been honored. He would have shown wisdom and above all, a sense 
of humanity. But not even raising his voice when it comes to the freedom of his 
citizens to mourn in accordance with their faith is just another slap in 
their faces. For that, he fully deserves to win the Nobel Rest In Peace Prize. 

The writer is a graduate from the University of Amsterdam (European Studies). 
He can be reached at principe at indosat.net.id. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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