Central Sulawesi: "Poso 3" Executed - Violence

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 011799

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SUBJECT: Central Sulawesi: "Poso 3" Executed - Violence
Erupts In West Timor

Ref: JAKARTA 4365


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus Da Silva, and
Marinus Riwu were executed September 22. Security
situations in Palu, Poso and Tentena remained calm, inspired
by a highly visible police and military presence patrolling
the streets. Violence erupted in areas of West Timor, Nusa
Tenggara Province, where 3-5000 rioted in Attambua,
destroying the local parliament building, the attorney
general's office, a hotel, gas station and many other
buildings and vehicles. Police came at the mob using tear
gas and rubber bullets causing injuries and possibly one
death. ConGen Surabaya is aware of one U.S. citizen in
Attambua, who is safe. END SUMMARY.

Poso Violence Antagonists Executed
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2. (SBU) Convicted mass murderers Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus
Da Silva, and Marinus Riwu were executed September 22 at
1:40 A.M. local time after postponements in April and August
2006 (reftel). According to Tasrip Siara, a journalist for
Alliance Independent, the execution took place at Soeharto
Hill in Ngatabaru, a police training ground close to the
Palu airport. A few hours before, two trucks had left
Palu's Petobo Prison; the first vehicle passed through the
front gate as a diversion in case protestors planned to
attack the vehicle carrying the condemned prisoners and
traveled to the Palu Airport. The majority of the press
followed the diversionary vehicle. The second truck carried
Tibo, Da Silva and Riwu through the Petobo Prison back gate
to the site of the execution. The three prisoners were
executed by firing squad. Siara also stated that the bodies
of Tibo and Riwu were flown at 5:00 A.M. from Palu to
Soroako, South Sulawesi then driven to Beteleme, Morowali,
Central Sulawesi for burial. Da Silva's body was buried at
Talisa Cemetery in Palu immediately after the execution.
Provincial police and military are providing heavy security
at the burial sites.

Central Sulawesi Quiet Under Heavy Police Presence
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3. (SBU) According to several ConGen Surabaya sources, the
situations in Palu, Poso and Tentena were calm in the hours
immediately following the executions. Siara stated that the
day before the executions, the situation in Palu was like
war time with police and military personnel tightly guarding
every corner of the city, frequently patrolling the streets
with tanks. Darlis Muhammad, a journalist for Tempo
Newspaper, also believed the emotional state of local
Catholics was highly charged. He attended one of the masses
held for the prisoners at the Santa Maria Catholic Church in
Palu and heard angry statements from the crowd. Omnesimus
Kambodji, head of the Inter-religious Communication Forum in
Poso, told Congen staff that the situation in Tentena was
tense the previous night, with a major police and military
presence in the city, however no violent incidents occurred
and life returned to normal in the morning following the
execution. Religious leader Rinaldy Damanik, head of
Central Sulawesi Assembly of Churches, actively asked his
members in Poso to stay calm. A few Christian youths threw
stones at the Tentena police station in the morning but
there was no reaction from the police or the public. Police
personnel were withdrawn from Tentena to Poso late in the
morning reflecting their belief the situation in Tentena was
secure.

West Timor Explodes - Executions Seen as Unfair
-------------- --


4. (SBU) The security situation in West Timor, East Nusa
Tenggara Province (NTT),however, deteriorated quickly.
Immediately following the executions, an angry mob of
approximately 1,000 in Kefamenanu, West Timor forcibly
closed the prosecutor's office and chased away the regency
Attorney General from his home. At approximately 9:00 A.M.
local time in Attambua, West Timor, a mob of 3-5000
destroyed the local parliament building, the Attambua
prosecutor's office and burnt the prosecutor's official
residence. The crowd blocked roads by lighting tires and
stacking debris and burned a hotel, gas station and other
buildings. There are several unconfirmed reports from

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ConGen Surabaya contacts that local police confronted the
mob and fired in to the crowd on two occasions, causing one
death and several injuries. Another news account states the
police used tear gas and rubber bullets, hospitalizing
several protesters. According to Chrystal Holt, head of the
local Save the Children agency, additional military and
police forces were rushing to the area by helicopter.


5. (SBU) Vincen Loe, the head of YASO Foundation in
Attambua, said that the crowd also demanded that the
prosecutor's office release all prisoners. When the
prisoners were not released, the mod destroyed the jail
freeing 205 prisoners. Loe was concerned East Timorese
living in West Timor would take advantage of the chaotic
situation and continue rioting. Attambua residents were
ordered to stay in their homes until the situation calmed.
The Belu Regent, Deputy Regent, and the Bishop of Attambua
patrolled the streets and asked people to gather at the
local soccer field where the three community leaders then
spoke to the crowd. Apparently this was not effective as
the mob continued by burning the central market in town.
According to contacts, local residents were not angry about
the executions per se, but felt justice was not done because
the 16 other accomplices alleged by Tibo were not adequately
investigated. More importantly, there remains a strong
local sense that the Poso 3, originally from NTT, were
scapegoats, and had no chance to have a fair trial in
Central Sualwesi. ConGen Surabaya also received word that a
mosque in Ruteng, Flores, NTT was burned to protest the
executions.


6. (SBU) The Central Sulawesi public prosecutor's office
rejected several last requests of the condemned prisoners
for security reasons. Dominggus Da Silva had asked that his
body be buried in Maumere, Flores, NTT. The three convicts
had requested that their executions be witnessed by Joseph
Suwathan (Bishop of Manado, North Sulawesi),Father Jemmy
Tumbelaka (of St. Theresa Church in Poso),Father Melky
Toreh (of St. Maria Church in Palu) and Roy Rening (lawyer
for the three prisoners). The three also had asked that
their bodies to be prayed over at Santa Maria Catholic
Church in Palu prior to burial. According to Siara, their
attorneys were infuriated by the denials but the prisoners'
families accepted the decision.


7. (SBU) An American citizen named Jennifer Goette, working
for Save the Children in Kupang, NTT, is currently in
Attambua. She is safely in her hotel, which was not
attacked. She will try to leave via airplane tomorrow back
to Kupang. Her husband is also in West Timor but is in a
remote area, far from the violence. ConGen Surabaya
notified her parents of her safety via email, at her
request. There are no other known Americans in the area.

HEFFERN