EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/372

(2004/C 88 E/0377)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1767/03

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(28 May 2003)

Subject: Persecution of Christians in Indonesia

There are continuing reports of persecution by Muslims of Christians in Indonesia. That said, Christians have nonetheless been arrested for instigating sectarian violence as in the case of the three Christians arrested in Palu, central Sulawesi in September 2000 and convicted on capital charges. During the trial there were thousands of demonstrators chanting outside the courtroom, with threats made against both lawyers and witnesses. As a result, of the eighteen witnesses prepared initially to testify for the defence and the four lawyers prepared to defend the accused only one witness gave evidence and two lawyers were prepared to present a case for the defence.

Can the Commission indicate what indications it has regarding the fate of these men and whether it has raised their case as well as the ongoing persecution of Christians in various parts of Indonesia? Does the Commission have any indication as to whether or not the violence has been officially orchestrated or received support of any kind from the authorities and does the Commission believe that the situation is improving or getting worse.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 June 2003)

The question refers to the case of Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva who have all been sentenced to death in April 2001 by the Palu District court for their involvement in the Poso riot in May-June 2000. The riot claimed the lives of up to 200 people. In May 2001 the Central Sulawesi High Court rejected appeals for lighter sentences. The three defendants submitted a request for case review in September 2002. No further decision has been taken until now.

The Commission has been following and continues to follow closely the situation in Central Sulawesi, including the legal processes related to the violence perpetrated in the region. The Commission has also provided humanitarian assistance to IDPs and local communities through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and Aid to Uprooted People programmes.

According to Community counterparts and other international organisations and international nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) working in Central Sulawesi, the situation in Central Sulawesi has stabilized over the past year. The Malino (1) process, despite some important flaws, has started to provide an opportunity for an end to the conflict.

(1) In December 2001, the national government led by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Jusuf Kalla, convened and mediated a two-day meeting between twenty-five Muslim and twenty-four Christian leaders from Poso in the South Sulawesi town of Malino. The two parties agreed to end their conflict and work together to maintain peace in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and issued a 10-point joint declaration (the ‘Malino Declaration’). The government's immediate priority is to separate the warring communities and to maintain peace and order, which will be followed by dissemination of the Malino Declaration to the grassroots. Extra security personnel have been deployed and have conducted ‘sweeping operations’ to disarm militiamen and fighters on both sides of the warring factions. The Government is also providing financial assistance amounting to 100 billion rupiah (USD 10 million) to resettle displaced persons and for reconstruction purposes. Since the Malino meeting and subsequent actions, the security conditions in Poso have much improved, transportation links have been reestablished and thousands of arms have been surrendered voluntarily.