Indonesia: Christians executed for "inciting violence" against Muslims

Three Chrstians have been executed by the Indonesian government for supposedly inciting violence against Muslims as a reaction to Muslim violence against Christians during the Poso conflct of 2000 in the Central Sulawesi region of Indonesia. Fabianus Tibo, Marinus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva were executed last week even though they hadn't yet exhausted their legal rights of appeal.

The Jakarta Post reports that a group of lawmakers and human rights activists have launched a protest claiming the executions were illegal.

"Gayus Lumbuun of the PDI-P, speaking for the legislators, said by law the men should have been allowed to live until Nov. 10, 2007, or two years after their first request for presidential clemency was rejected."

"The three asked to be accompanied by their lawyers and pastors and to have a funeral service in accordance with Catholic traditions but all the requests were rejected. The authorities also refused to do autopsies on the bodies of the three, which according to a public health center were covered with bruises and evidence of torture," said another lawmaker, Retna Rosmanita Situmorang of the PDS.

Some background to the Poso conflict can be found here.

"[T]he first stage in the Poso conflict, Muslims launched an attack on Christians in Poso, following a brawl between a Christian and Muslim youth. Muslims began to burn down churches and Christian homes, culminating in the second phase of the Poso conflict in April 2000 in which hundreds of Christian homes were destroyed, and many were killed."

"The third phase began in May 2000, when the retaliation began in earnest as Christian “ninjas” terrorized and tortured Poso Muslims."

"In late November 2001, the Muslim-Christian fighting flared up once again, spurred on by the introduction of thousands of Laskar Jihad members in Poso, armed Muslim gangs attacked and burned Christian villages around Poso. An estimated 15,000 Christians had fled from the attacks by early December."

"... in April 2000 [I think that should be 2001 - Stan] the Palu local district court ruled that three Christians who had been accused of involvement in the previous year’s violence would be put to death. Many Christians felt that the death sentence was unjust and biased, considering that no Muslims had been tried for violence that occurred in the first two phases of the conflict."

No Muslims tried for violence, let alone convicted or executed. All this in the so called moderate Muslim democracy of Indonesia. Wherever there are muslims, there is conflict and death. Anyone see a pattern?