Thankyou for continued concern for the issues in East Indonesia. Please read, pray and foward this news on to others. In this update... 1. The tale of two trials 2. IFC ministry team facing new pressures and hardships 3. Refugees feeling vulnerable in their 'refuge'. 4. Watching Papua 1. The Tale of Two Trials This week in Bali, the trials began for the more than 30 self confessed terrorists behind the bombing that killed at least 202 people, 88 of whom were Australian. One report I received from Bali in March had a different perspective on the number of those killed. He wrote, "Body parts of 85 or so bomb victims were cremated here today. That caps the death toll at 307. Scores of society's rejects - beggars, prostitutes, drug pushers & others unworthy of official ID add to the unofficial tally." Political correctedness, especially the print media in Australia, has failed to fully understand the ideology that drives this kind of hatred and terror, which for 3 years ravaged the eastern province of Maluku and Central Sulawesi. You can be sure that there will be a long list of international observers at these Bali trials as they unfold 'Indonesian style' over the next how ever many months. Any inconsistencies in the court procedure or judiciary will be widely reported and there will be huge diplomatic pressure to ensure that justice is done. No such media spotlight has accompanied the trial of another Indonesia - Pastor Rinaldy Damanik, who has been under arrest without conviction since September last year for allegedly carrying weapons in his car. I have already reported his case in detail, but I want to ask for your continued prayers for him. Although he has a strong defense in favour of his innocence, he has welcomed the opportunity to testify in order that the truth concerning the conflict in Central Sulawesi can be told. Thankfully, the truth concerning Damanik's innocence is beginning to get a hearing. The Jakarta Post recently reported on the testimony of one expert witness: Prof. J. E. Sahetapy, an expert witness in the trial of minister Rinaldy Damanik, told the Palu District Court the police engineered the arrest of the defendant. "I was the first person to say that the police should be separated from the then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) during former president Soeharto's tenure. I want the police to be professional, independent and no longer engineer cases. But the police still behave like they did during the New Order, engineering Rev. Damanik's case," he said. The police have charged Damanik under Law No. 12/1951 on the illegal ownership of weapons. The defendant was arrested on Aug. 17, 2002, as he and a number of other activists were evacuating Christians from Poso, which at the time was experiencing sectarian violence. The defendant was charged with illegally possessing seven homemade rifles, four pistols and 144 bullets. Sahetapy, who is also a legislator with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), called on the panel of judges hearing the case, led by I Wayan Somanada, to acquit the defendant of all charges. He claimed the arrest and subsequent interrogation of Damanik violated the Criminal Code. He said the police's behavior in this case resembled their handling of the 1995 murder of labor activist Marsinah in Sidoarjo, East Java. In that case, several soldiers and executives of the watch factory where Marsinah was employed were acquitted of all charges. Sahetapy also told the court that he spoke with a soldier who was present at Damanik's arrest who claimed the whole arrest was a setup. "The soldier told me that the handmade rifles and guns found inside Damanik's car were planted, but I don't want to disclose his identity," he testified. He also said the defendant could not be said to have been caught red-handed in the possession of illegal firearms because the arrest was not witnessed by the head of the village where the apprehension took place." The christian, human rights advocacy group, the Jubilee Campaign has done an excellent job of promoting the case of Rev Damanik. I urge you to visit their web site by clicking on this link below to read news reports, see photos and read the transcript of the court: http://jubileecampaign.org/home/jubilee/damanik/ 2. IFC ministry team facing new pressures and hardships. For two and half years now our organisation (International Friends of Compassion, IFC) has been providing relief, support and advocacy for the persecuted Christians in East Indonesia. At any one time we have around 25 people, mainly Indonesian, working from early in the morning until late in the evening, visiting the camps, attending to medical needs, negotiating with government departments, caring for orphans, training pastors, drilling wells for fresh water, building homes and at times just sitting down and being there for people as they unload the horror of what has happened to them. We also have 5 Australians based in the area fulltime engaged in charitable, medical and other humanitarian work. In the last week a certain local government official has engineered a personal campaign to make it very difficult (and expensive!) for these 'foreigners' to remain in Indonesia and continue to exercise this critical need for practical care. Our team has been 'fined' for so-called violation of visas, which is ridiculous, and, at a critical time in the work we are engaged in, our workers are having to leave the country and apply for a renewal of their visas. This might just seem like an inconvenient bit of red tape - but its more than that. Its a deliberate attempt to close down the ministry, and extort money at the same time. Its also very expensive to leave the country, get visas all over again and then hope that you will be successful in re-entering. Meanwhile, with all this going on, critical ministry needs cannot be responded to. To make matters worse, our number one medical staffer has just been diagnosed with Malaria! Please pray for our team, that God will intervene and make it possible for this work to continue without hindrance. 3. Refugees feeling vulnerable in their 'refuge'. This week has also been a dangerous one for our workers in the Bitung refugee camp. Those in this camp have been unable to return to their homes because of security issues. They are the poorest of the poor and the lowest of the lows, mostly unemployed and suffering from a range of medical conditions. Our team is there on a daily basis providing practical support and pastoral care. Last week they had to contend with molotov cocktails, burnings of buildings and fearsome rioting as a group of locals (from the other faith) provoked an atmosphere of violence and fear. There have been growing tensions over time in this location between the christian refugee population and the mainly muslim local population. People have often asked me, 'Are the refugees safe where they are?', to which I have always answered, 'Oh Yes, thats why they came to North Sulawesi, because it is a place of refuge.' Indeed in one of the songs that the refugee children sing on the Hearts of Faith album they say, "In the villages it took place - houses and property totally destroyed. We ran here and there seeking protection. Goodbye, goodbye Ternate town - We came to Bitung town to FIND REFUGE." Tragically that sense of "refuge" can no longer be taken for granted. It raises the urgent need for land to be secured in another location and for resettlement communities to be built. But, because of the government policy of only supporting those refugees who return home, those who are forced to remain, because of the security issues in their home villages, are left with no means to begin a new life. And so, over time (its been nearly three years now!), tensions build between the local townspeople and the refugees - who are seen as very much an underclass. The refugees in turn are prone to depression, substance abuse and petty crime and sometimes easily provoked by 'outside forces' who are wanting to create a conflict as a pretext for ridding the area completely of the refugees. These are enormously difficulty social issues for our team to respond to, but we are seeking to provide the light and hope of Jesus! Can you help us continue to help them??? 4. Watching Papua If you have followed the events in East Indonesia over the last few years you would know that the pattern of destabilastion and provocation that was witnessed in Ambon and other places is now being played out in its preliminary phase in Papua. We strongly pray that there would be no genocide in Papua, but it is an area that we must continue to watch and be concerned about. Here is what one observer shared with me a few weeks ago, "There is still considerable arguement over the partition of Papua into three provinces. Such a partition would effectively hand possibly two of the three proposed provinces over to Muslim control (the west and central). However there is a lot of political wrangling going on at the moment. Megawati is trying to please everyone! The issue is far from being decided. The Christian community has some good leadership ...[ ] is a wonderful mediator who is no doubt saving lives through his tactful and careful liaison between government, military and the local community. My concern is that whatever the Papuans do, they will loose out. The jihad is quiet but is operating behind the lines. The church does not want violence and is generally restraining Papuan hot heads and working hard with the police and local government to keep the peace. However the subtle and almost silent process of Islamisation in Papua (in the broadest political and social sense) continues through migration and militarisation. In a nutshell, things are much the same in Papua ie.there is the continuing abuse of locals by the military, there is ongoing migration from Muslim areas of Indonesia and there is the quiet and sinister presence of the jihad (who are there with the approval and support of the military)." IN CLOSING... Your support is needed to help us to continue this vital ministry of assistance to and advocacy for the Christian communities of East Indonesia. Your financial partnerships and your fervent intercession in prayer is so much needed. We value you and your partnership HAS made a wonderful difference over the last couple of years. Please do what you can to assist in this strategic next phase. You can give a tax deductible gift to help. Please nominate either: 1. Urgent medical assistance, e.g. $1000 buys 200 mossie nets which will prevent malaria! 2. Fees to help us pay for leaving/reentering the country + visas. It has cost us $1600 so far this week and will cost an estimated $3000 more. 3. Legal expenses to assist with the defense of Rev Damanik. 4. Land, food and homes for the refugees. It cost $1500 to erect a simple home in a resettlement area. or 5. Support to one of our Indonesian workers. $200 a month. THANKYOU FOR WHATEVER HELP YOU CAN GIVE. Ian Freestone Australian Director of IFC.