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PALU - 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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