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Pope urges Indonesia to call off Christian executions http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=SP254679
Fri 11 Aug 2006
(Recasts with Pope appeal, amends dateline)
JAKARTA/VATICAN CITY, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called on Indonesia on Friday to stop the imminent execution of three Christian militants convicted of killing Muslims, as thousands of Indonesians held a prayer vigil opposing the death penalty.
Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Silva were to face a firing squad just after midnight on Friday at a secret location in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, a spokesman for the Indonesian attorney general has said.
Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano said on behalf of the Pope that clemency should be granted "on humanitarian grounds" for the three men who were found guilty of leading a Christian mob in an attack which killed more than 200 people during Muslim-Christian clashes in the province's Poso region.
"In the name of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, I turn to you again ... in order that an act of clemency might be granted to these three Catholic citizens of your nation," a letter addressed to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
Yudhoyono had rejected the three men's appeals for a pardon last year, but Indonesians gathered to oppose the execution.
"Thousands of people are gathering in a field in Palu and Tentena to support (the convicts) in prayers," said Heri Julius, a local Christian priest.
Police tightened security ahead of the execution.
Indonesia does not make public the time and location of executions, with notification limited to next of kin.
Last March, local and international Catholic groups urged Yudhoyono to reconsider his stance on the three death sentences, but there has been no indication he will intervene.
Muslim-Christian clashes raged in Central Sulawesi from late 1998 to 2001, killing 2,000 before a peace accord took effect.
On Thursday, thousands of Christians held a rally in the Poso town of Tentena to oppose the execution.
Three Islamic militants sentenced to death for their leading roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people have also been notified that their executions have been set for this month.
Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people follow Islam and most of those Muslims are moderates but Islamic militancy is on the rise through small but vocal radical groups.
Some areas in eastern Indonesia such as Poso have roughly equal proportions of Muslims and Christians. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in ROME)
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