Binjai airborne battalion to be revived<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu made clear on Friday
\nthat he would revive the Airborne 100\/PS Battalion in Binjai,
\nsome 30 kilometers north of Medan.<\/p>\n
The Army unit has been suspended since an attack by a number
\nof its members on a police station and the headquarters of the
\npolice's Mobile Brigade in Binjai at the end of September. The
\nattack claimed the lives of at least four people, including two
\ncivilians.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard made the statement during a visit to the airborne
\nunit's headquarters in Namu Sira-Sira subdistrict to inspect the
\nunit's arms, which have been kept in storage since the attack.<\/p>\n
Accompanying Ryamizard during the visit were North Sumatra
\nGovernor T. Rizal Nurdin, Brig. Gen. Tri Tamtomo, the new chief
\nof the Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing North and West
\nSumatra and Riau, and his predecessor Maj. Gen. Idris Gassing.<\/p>\n
The attack occurred after the Binjai Police refused to
\nrelease a drug trafficker who was backed by several members of
\nthe airborne battalion.<\/p>\n
Tamtomo officially took over the Bukit Barisan Military
\nCommand from Gassing during a military ceremony in the city on
\nThursday. Gassing has been assigned to Army Headquarters in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the attack on the police stations,
\nRyamizard suspended all of the airborne unit's operations and
\nreplaced all of the commanders who were seen as being partly
\nresponsible for the incident.<\/p>\n
But he said that if the suspension continued for too long a
\ntime it could have a negative impact on the regional military
\ncommand.<\/p>\n
\"We will set up a new force to revive the battalion in the
\nnear future. The military command will be missing an elite unit
\nfor a long time if this battalion is not revived,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said reviving the battalion would require a great deal of
\npreparation, including the selection of servicemen to be assigned
\nto the battalion.<\/p>\n
Former members of the battalion have been reassigned to
\nmilitary units in three other provinces.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/binjai-airborne-battalion-to-be-revived-1447893297",
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