The Madiun incident<\/p>\n
It happened around midnight in the East Java town of Madiun.
\nNavy Second Lt. A.M. Jeremy, Army Second Lt. Azis and Police
\nSecond Lt. Tatit Muji Widodo, all out of uniform, were queuing up
\nto buy gasoline at a gas station near the town square. Suddenly
\ntwo military policemen riding a motorcycle arrived on the scene
\nand, ignoring all the other vehicles that stood waiting their
\nturn to have their tanks filled, cut right in front of the car in
\nwhich the lieutenants were seated.<\/p>\n
Clearly a breach both of basic good manners and of military
\ndiscipline. But much worse was to follow. An argument between the
\nthree officers in civilian clothes and the two military
\npolicemen, who apparently belonged to the Army's Strategic
\nReserves Command (Kostrad) followed and soon turned into a brawl
\nwhen a large number of members of the military battalion to which
\nthe latter belonged arrived on the scene to help the two military
\npolicemen.<\/p>\n
Lt. Tatit fired a warning shot into the air to halt the melee,
\nbut that did not stop the fighting. One of the military policemen
\ntried to grab Tatit's gun and was shot in the leg. The brawl led
\nto an attack later that night by about 300 members of the Kostrad
\ninfantry battalion on a Madiun police station and three other
\npolice substations in the town. One traffic police post in the
\nprecinct was destroyed. Other buildings were also attacked and
\ndamaged, including the town's police hospital. Several police
\nvehicles were destroyed and many police officers were injured in
\nthe attacks.<\/p>\n
Yet another breach of discipline, and this time a most serious
\none, by people who have always been proud of holding themselves
\nup as models of discipline for the nation to emulate. Three high
\nschool students, one 17 years old and the two others 18, died in
\nthe incident and the scars, in terms of relations between the
\nmilitary and the police, are sure to take some time to heal. Even
\nmore sadly, this is not the first time in recent months that
\nsquabbles between the military and the police have led to deadly
\nshooting incidents. Recently, a similar shooting incident
\noccurred in Irian Jaya between the two, and another one before
\nthat in Maluku.<\/p>\n
This time around, however, the story has a somewhat brighter
\nending. While investigations on what precisely happened are
\nunderway, Kostrad's commander Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu has
\ntaken prompt and drastic steps to make sure that such a
\ndisgraceful incident does not happen again. He has discharged the
\nchief of Kostrad's Airborne Infantry Battalion 501, Maj. Komistin
\nHadirin, and his deputy Maj. Nurcholid, who are being held
\nresponsible for the incident, as well as 20 members of the
\nbattalion, pending trial. Gen. Ryacudu was also prompt in making
\nan apology to the public for the behavior of troops under his
\ncommand.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian public notes and appreciates the firm and
\nprompt measures that Gen. Ryacudu has taken to instill greater
\ndiscipline among his troops. It is still not completely clear to
\nthe public what exactly happened in Madiun that Saturday night.
\nBut if it should turn out that the police officers involved in
\nthe incident were also guilty of serious indiscipline, the police
\nchief should have the courage to take some stern measures against
\nthem too.<\/p>\n
The military and the police are entrusted by the public to
\ncarry arms to safeguard the country and to protect the public --
\nand certainly not to settle arguments between themselves.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-madiun-incident-1447893297",
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