Posted on 08/11/2006 5:52:31 PM PDT by NYer
INDONESIA-POSTPONE Aug-11-2006 (410 words) xxxi
Indonesia postpones executions of Catholics hours after papal appeal
By Catholic News Service
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) -- Hours after an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI, Indonesian officials issued a last-minute stay of execution for three Catholics, but said they would be executed after Aug. 20.
Gen. Sutanto, the national police chief, announced the stay late Aug. 11 for Fabianus Tibo, 60, Dominggus da Silva, 39, and Marinus Riwu, 48. The three were sentenced to death after being convicted in 2001 of murdering 200 Muslims in May-June 2000 in the Poso area, in Central Sulawesi.
Christian-Muslim clashes from December 1998 to December 2001 in and around the area killed hundreds of people, with estimates ranging as high as 2,000.
The Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of the three, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected their plea for clemency Nov. 10.
Hours before the stay was announced, the Vatican released the text of a telegram sent to Yudhoyono and signed by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state.
In the pope's name, Cardinal Sodano asked Yudhoyono to intervene "on humanitarian grounds ... in order that an act of clemency might be granted to these three Catholic citizens of your nation."
Sutanto told reporters that officials said the executions were delayed because they were too busy preparing for Indonesia's independence day Aug. 17. He did not announce a specific new date for the executions.
Earlier, thousands of Indonesians across the country protested the impending executions.
In Maumere Aug. 10, about 5,000 students from kindergarten to university level took part in a protest coordinated by a Divine Word priest and organized by "Forum Peduli Tibo Cs" (Forum Caring for Tibo and His Friends), reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.
That same day in Atambua, the Religious Leaders Cooperation Forum of Belu and North Central Timor districts organized a press conference in Belu's Legislative Council office to express their stand on the executions.
Bishop Anton Pain Ratu of Atambua, head of the forum, said the situation showed that laws were enforced against "small people who have no money." He also said: "We acknowledge Tibo and his friends may have done wrong, but their sentence is not commensurate with their acts. Tibo and his friends should not be executed because only God can take life."
The bishop and Muslim and Protestant leaders signed a letter to the United Nations asking the world body to urge Indonesia's government to cancel the executions.
The article doesn't give a lot of info in regards to their actions.
Scroll down to the bottom to read more background information.
Asia News has been covering this case quite extensively. One thing you should know, no Moslem has been indicted or tried for their part in this massacre. Only the Christians were tried and condemned to die. There was extensive pressure on the courts by fundamentalist Islamists. This is like the third stay of execution for these men.
Why do I suspect this is a case of Catholics being tried and sentenced to death for attempting to defend themselves from Muslim attacks and thereby violating the rules of Dhimmi?
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