[Kabar-indonesia] 5 Execution Updates: Amnesty Intl "Disappointed" [+AP; AFP; Reuters, Kyodo]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

5 Articles:

- AP: Indonesia Executes Christian Militants

- AFP: Amnesty "disappointed" over execution 
  of Indonesian Christians

- Three Indonesian Christians executed 
  over Muslim killings: lawyer

- Kyodo: Indonesia executes 3 Catholic militants

- Reuters: Indonesia executes 3 Christians 
  over Muslim deaths

Indonesia Executes Christian Militants

By IRWAN FIRDAUS
Associated Press Writer

PALU, September 22 (AP) - Three Christian militants were executed by
firing squad early Friday for leading attacks on Muslims six years ago
that left 70 people dead, a police official and local media said.

The men were taken before the firing squad at 12:15 a.m. (2:15 p.m.
EDT Thursday), said a senior police officer who asked not to be
identified because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. Metro
TV and SCTV had similar reports, but did not identify their sources.

In carrying out the death sentence, Indonesia ignored an appeal last
month by Pope Benedict XVI to spare the men. A Vatican spokesman, the
Rev. Federico Lombardi, told the Italian news agency ANSA that news of
the execution "was very sad and painful."

Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marinus Riwu, 48, and Dominggus da Silva, 42, were
found guilty of leading a Christian militia that launched a series of
attacks in May 2000 -- including a machete and gun assault on an
Islamic school where dozens of men were seeking shelter.

Security forces braced for sectarian violence, with thousands of
police blocking roads leading to the prison where the inmates are
being held, standing on street corners and guarding nearby churches.

"I understand they have been killed," said Roy Rening, their attorney,
adding that he was still awaiting confirmation from the prosecutor's
office.

The case against them has heightened tensions in the world's most
populous Muslim nation and raised questions about the role religion
played in punishing those allegedly behind the violence that swept
Sulawesi province from 1998 to 2002, killing more than 1,000 people of
both religions.

Only a handful of Muslims were convicted in the violence, all for 15
years in prison or less.

The men told relatives and a priest during final prayers at their jail
Thursday that they were innocent but ready to die.

The planned executions come amid an outcry in many Muslim nations
about comments made by Benedict on Islam.

The pontiff last week cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who
characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil
and inhuman." He has since said he was "deeply sorry" about the
reactions to his remarks and that they did not reflect his own
opinions.

The condemned men had said they hoped investigations into the clashes
would continue, noting that they had provided authorities with the
names of 16 Christians who allegedly instigated some of the worst
bloodshed.

The government says its probe is complete.

"My father told me he was not afraid to die, he is not afraid to face
his destiny," said Tibo's son, Robert. "But he wants the real killers
to be caught."

Human rights workers say the men's 2001 trial was a sham, and that
while it was possible the men took part in some of the violence, they
almost certainly were not the masterminds. Others note that only a
handful of Muslims were punished in connection with the violence, all
sentenced to 15 years in jail or less.

Thousands of Christians rallied peacefully in at least seven towns
Thursday. Muslim protesters also have taken to the streets in recent
weeks, demanding the men be killed following two last-minute stays,
the most recent just more than a month ago.

Fearing violence timed to the executions, Indonesia deployed more than
2,000 police and soldiers in Palu, some guarding churches that dot the
city. Security was also stepped up on the island of Flores, where the
three men were born, said Lt. Col. Endang Syafrudin, the island's
police chief.

Access to the prison was cut off late Thursday, with security forces
blocking cars and motorcycles on surrounding roads.

Tibo, Riwu and da Silva discussed their final wishes with relatives,
lawyers and their priest -- from giving a message to President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, to having relatives and spiritual advisers
accompany them when they are led to their deaths.

The government rejected all of their requests, the men's lawyer Roy
Rening later told reporters.

Their priest, the Rev. Jimmy Tumbelaka, warned that the decision could
further stoke tensions.

"It is not good," he said. "I'm afraid this will only make people angrier."

Indonesia is a secular nation with the world's largest number of
Muslims, about 190 million. In Sulawesi and several other eastern
regions, Christian and Muslim populations are roughly equal.

Though violence in Sulawesi largely ended with the signing of a peace
deal in 2002, there have been isolated incidents of violence since
then, most blamed on Islamic militants.

Rinaldy Damanik, the head of the Central Sulawesi assembly of
churches, called on Christians to stay calm.

"My worry is there will be another bombing or shootings" timed to the
executions, he said. "If that happens, then I fear the masses will be
uncontrollable."

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Amnesty "disappointed" over execution of Indonesian Christians

JAKARTA, September 22 (AFP) -- Amnesty International expressed
disappointment Friday over the executions of three Indonesian
Christians who were convicted of inciting violence against Muslims in
a 2001 case criticised for being unfair.

Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu were executed by
firing squad in religiously-divided Central Sulawesi province, where
clashes between the two faiths in 2000-01 left more than 1,000 people
dead.

"We are deeply disappointed that despite the debate on the death
penalty that the case had sparked across Indonesia, the state went
ahead and killed these three men," Amnesty's Southeast Asia researcher
Isabelle Cartron said.

"Such state-sanctioned killings are all the more unacceptable where,
as in this case, there have been serious doubts about the fairness of
the trials," she told AFP by telephone from London.

Cartron noted that there were concerns about defence witness testimony
being ignored by the court as well as the intimidation of the men's
lawyers, who endured death threats and a bomb being planted at one of
their homes.

Rights activists have also noted that few others have been convicted
for the violence of 2000-01, leaving those most responsible on the
run.

Some observers have also said they fear the Christian cases may have
been politically linked to that of three Islamic militants on death
row in the world's most populous Muslim nation for their roles in the
2002 Bali bombings.

The attacks left 202 people dead, mostly western foreigners.

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Three Indonesian Christians executed over Muslim killings: lawyer

PALU, September 22 (AFP) -- Three Indonesian Christians who were on
death row for inciting violence against Muslims in 2000 have been
executed, their lawyer said Friday, as security forces braced for
potential religious unrest.

"They have been executed. Their bodies are now undergoing an autopsy
at the police hospital," lawyer Roy Rening said.

Rening said he was informed of the executions of Fabianus Tibo,
Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu by the prosecutors office in
Palu, the capital of religiously-divided Central Sulawesi province,
where the men were being held.

Authorities in the world's most populous Muslim nation typically do
not inform the public of executions, which are carried out by firing
squad and held at undisclosed locations, until several hours after an
autopsy is completed.

Rening added that he refused to be present at the deaths to protest a
rejection by the state of their last demands, including that their
bodies be flown back to their home towns or laid in wake at Palu's
main Catholic church.

He was unable to give further details about the precise time of the
death, but a flurry of activity had occurred around midnight local
time (1800 GMT) at the tightly-guarded jail, where a steady rain
drizzled overnight.

The trio were initially scheduled to be shot last month but
authorities granted a last-minute reprieve -- even following the
preparation of their coffins -- shortly after Pope Benedict XVI issued
a plea for clemency, though a link was denied.

After the executions, spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican was
saddened by the "painful" news.

Amnesty International said it was "deeply disappointed that despite
the debate on the death penalty that the case had sparked across
Indonesia, the state went ahead and killed these three men."

The case of the trio has raised fears of sectarian violence flaring
again in Central Sulawesi, where more than 1,000 people lost their
lives in 2000-01 as Muslims and Christians clashed.

Tibo, da Silva and Riwu were convicted of leading a Christian militia
that carried out some of the grisly attacks against Muslims in the
province, but they categorically denied they were the masterminds
behind the unrest.

The case of the three poor farmers drew international concern from
rights activists, who criticised the fairness of their trial and saw
the men as scapegoats targetted while few others were convicted over
the violence that began six years ago, leaving those most responsible
on the run.

On Thursday, the men had met for the last time with their relatives,
their priest and their lawyer, Rening, who criticised authorities for
declining to meet their final requests.

"They should just do the execution and return their bodies to the
family... This is a new crime, and I protest this attitude," Rening
earlier told reporters.

Typically authorities do turn bodies over to families after
executions, following a routine autopsy. Authorities may be concerned
that the bodies could become a focal point for protest.

The men's priest, Jimmy Tumbeleka, said he was concerned that a
refusal to hand over the bodies could "trigger more anger from the
family and others" in the province, where Muslims and Christians live
in roughly equal numbers.

More than 4,000 security forces have fanned out across the province in
the past two days in anticipation of the executions.

Christian leaders had urged their faithful to stay calm and refrain
from any violence ahead of the executions, with widespread prayer
services for the men being held.

The executions were carried out just a few days ahead of Ramadan, the
Muslim holy month of fasting which is expected to begin this weekend.

According to Amnesty International, which had raised questions about
the fairness of the men's 2001 trial, the most recent previous
execution in Indonesia was in May 2005.

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Indonesia executes 3 Catholic militants

Christine T. Tjandraningsih

JAKARTA, September 22 (Kyodo News) -- An Indonesian firing squad
executed three Roman Catholic militants early Friday for committing
murders in a strife-torn regency in Central Sulawesi Province in 2000,
officials said.

The executions took place amid a series of protests by Christians in
several parts of the country as well as from international human
rights organizations and Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI, who opposed
the death penalties and demanded the sentences be commuted.

About 4,000 police have been deployed across the country to prevent
possible riots or revenge by Christians against Muslims.

The convicted were shot after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
rejected a plea for a pardon in November last year.

Fabianus Tibo, 61, Marianus Riwu, 49, and Dominggus da Silva, 38,
sought pardons from the president after the Supreme Court rejected
their request to review the sentence.

They submitted for a judicial review to the highest court in 2002
after the court upheld two lower court rulings sentencing them to
death.

Seeking a presidential pardon was the last chance for the trio to escape 
death.

In his last message a day before the execution, Tibo insisted their innocence.

''We are innocent, (but) we are not afraid to die. We thank to all who
have been seeking for truth and justice to be revealed and upheld. We
feel God has provided the best for us,'' Tibo was quoted as saying by
Jimmy Tumbelaka, a priest who accompanied the three during the last
moments of their lives.

The three men were found guilty of leading hundreds of people to kill
Muslims and vandalize and burn their property, including attacks on
students and teachers at a local Islamic boarding school, in mid 2000
in Poso Regency.

At least 191 people were killed in the incident, according to court documents.

International human rights organizations, however, expressed concern
over reports indicating the trial of the three men in a district court
in the Central Sulawesi provincial capital Palu did not meet
international standards of fairness.

There have been concerns particularly that witness testimony provided
as evidence by the defense might have been ignored by the court when
giving its verdict, media reports said.

The three were to have been executed Aug. 12, but it was postponed a
few hours after Pope sent a message to Yudhoyono asking the sentences
to be commuted.

The government cited a busy schedule to prepare the Independence Day
celebrations Aug. 17 as the reason behind the delay in executing the
men.

Conflict between Christians and Muslims erupted in late 1998 and
culminated in 2000 when hundreds of people from both sides were
killed.

Some estimate the death toll has now surpassed 2,000.

Several peace accords have been reached, but sporadic violence has
continued in the region.

Late last year, three Christian school girls were beheaded by an
unknown group of people and two other schoolgirls, one Christian and
one Muslim, were shot earlier this week.

The numbers of Muslims and Christians are almost equal in Poso.

Indonesia executed two people in 2005, a woman and a man, each for murder.

Following the execution of two men in May 2001, there was a de facto
moratorium on the death penalty in Indonesia until 2004.

Before 2001, there had been no executions in the country for six years.

In October 2005, the Indonesian Parliament ratified the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which promotes the right to
life. However, they did not ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the
ICCPR, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.

More than 60 people are believed to be under sentence of death in
Indonesia, mostly for trafficking drugs or terrorist activities.

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Indonesia executes 3 Christians over Muslim deaths

By Crack Palinggi

PALU, Indonesia, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Three Christian militants
convicted of leading a mob that killed Muslims were executed by an
Indonesian police firing squad early on Friday amidst tight security
in Central Sulawesi province, police said.

Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Silva were sentenced to
death in 2001, after being found guilty of leading a Christian mob in
an attack that killed more than 200 people at an Islamic boarding
school during Muslim-Christian clashes in Central Sulawesi's Poso
region.

"It has been done ... the location was around the airport", a police
official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. He said the
bodies had been taken to a police hospital.

The trio had originally been scheduled to be put to death in August in
Palu, capital of the province, but the execution was postponed at the
eleventh hour after demonstrations by thousands of Indonesians and an
appeal from Pope Benedict.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of the world's most populous
Muslim nation, rejected the men's appeals for a pardon last year. They
had appealed again for clemency last month.

Hundreds of Christians had been praying for the convicted men at
Palu's Santa Maria church starting from late Thursday night. Heavy
police presence at the church was reinforced immediately after the
executions, including personnel from para-military mobile brigade
units.

SECURITY FORCES DEPLOYED

Ahead of the execution police had blocked roads around the airport.

About 4,000 police and soldiers had been deployed in Palu, provincial
police spokesman Muhammad Kilat said earlier this week. "We are
increasing our vigilance to anticipate any untoward incidents," he
said.

Human rights groups had urged Indonesia not to proceed with the
executions, and on Friday Isabelle Carton, South East Asia researcher
at Amnesty International, said:

"We are deeply disappointed that despite the debate on the death
penalty that the case had sparked across Indonesia, the state went
ahead and killed these three men."

Carton questioned the fairness of the trial and said: "The men's
lawyers received death threats including a bomb planted at one
lawyer's house; and demonstrators armed with stones outside the
courthouse demanded that the three be sentenced to death."

In recent weeks there have been sporadic attacks, mainly targeting
Christians, in Poso, where two people were killed this month in
separate bomb blasts.

Muslim-Christian clashes erupted in Central Sulawesi from late 1998 to
2001, killing an estimated 2,000 before a peace accord took effect.

Elsewhere in Indonesia's sprawling archipelago, three Islamic
militants are on death row for their leading roles in the 2002 Bali
nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

The attorney-general's office said on Aug. 21 their executions would
be delayed for a judicial review planned by defence lawyers.

Indonesia had last carried out an execution in March last year when a
woman in East Java province was put to death in a multiple murder and
mutilation case.

Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people follow Islam, but
some areas in eastern Indonesia have roughly equal proportions of
Muslims and Christians.

(Additional reporting in JAKARTA by Telly Nathalia, and by LONDON bureau)

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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