*Perilous Times
Indonesian was 'told to behead Christian girls'*
From correspondents in Jakarta
February 16, 2007 10:42pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A SENIOR Muslim militant who has confessed to beheading three Christian
schoolgirls said he was ordered to kill "infidels" in the restive
Indonesian town of Poso.
Basri said he and other militants were ordered to carry out the killings
after joining a group blamed for a series of sectarian attacks in
religiously-divided Poso district on Sulawesi island.
Basri and two other men were arrested on February 1 in a police raid
after a tip-off from Poso residents.
"I never killed the authorities but I killed four Christians," he said
in Jakarta.
"It was not my idea, I was told to kill. Please (spare me) the death
sentence," he said when asked if he understood he could face the death
sentence.
The October 2005 ambush by machete-wielding assailants triggered
worldwide condemnation, and five men already on trial for the murders
face the death penalty if convicted.
Basri had said his motive was "revenge" for the deaths of some of his
relatives in sectarian attacks.
He said he had joined Tanah Runtuh to learn to recite the Koran, but
then had been trained in military skills.
"We were told to kill infidels, but I had only heard about Jemaah
Islamiyah here in Jakarta," he said.
Basri did not say who issued the orders.
Police said some of the suspects killed or arrested during police raids
in Poso are members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terrorist network
blamed for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings and other attacks.
Basri did not say who ordered the attack on the girls but, in an
interview with Tempo magazine after his arrest, said the killings were
carried out "at the orders of Ustad (teacher) Sanusi".
In the interview, Basri said he and two others killed the girls and took
their heads to the group's headquarters as a "gift" to mark the end of
the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Poso and the surrounding district became a focal point of communal
violence between Muslims and Christians which claimed about 1000 lives
in 2000-2001.
Sporadic unrest has persisted since then, with tensions rising since the
execution in September last year of three Christians convicted of
inciting attacks seven years ago.
2007-03-04
05:19:47
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