Troops questioned over violence<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) says it is investigating four
\nsoldiers in relation to the killing of a civilian in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The TNI also said the 144th Infantry Battalion, to which the
\nsoldiers were posted, was being withdrawn from the war-torn
\nprovince following the incident, in which another three Lawang
\nvillagers from Bireuen regency were injured last Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Aceh Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki
\nsaid military police had questioned the soldiers and conducted a
\ntwo-day, on-site investigation in relation to the death.<\/p>\n
However, Yani said the death was not the main reason the
\nbattalion was pulling out of Aceh, saying the soldiers were
\nexhausted after almost a year of duty in the province.<\/p>\n
\"But we did question four of the battalion members over the
\nalleged violence in Lawang village,\" Yani told a press
\nconference.<\/p>\n
He said the operational commander of the military operation in
\nAceh, Brig. Gen. Bambang Darmono, would hold a media conference
\non Monday to explain details of the withdrawal.<\/p>\n
The 144th Battalion is part of the Sriwijaya Military Command
\nbased in the South Sumatra capital of Palembang. A battalion
\nconsists of around 700 troops.<\/p>\n
Yani said a reporter with private TV channel RCTI was involved
\nin the investigation. A group of journalists went to the scene of
\nthe incident two days after it occurred.<\/p>\n
The military officer said the soldiers were implicated in the
\nviolence, which took place when the troops conducted identity
\nchecks in the search for Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists
\nbelieved to be hiding in the village.<\/p>\n
Yani said the villager, Abu Bakar, was shot and killed as he
\ntried to escape the identification check as soldiers thought he
\nwas a GAM member. Witnesses told RCTI the man was beaten by the
\ntroops before he was shot.<\/p>\n
The three people injured in the incident are being treated at
\nthe Fauziah general hospital. Yani did not say how they were
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
Bireuen is known as a stronghold of GAM, which has been
\nfighting for independence since 1976.<\/p>\n
People living in the villages surrounding Lawang, and in
\nLawang itself, were forced to abandon their homes to seek safety
\nin mosques for fear of possible TNI attacks. Most of these
\nresidents have no identity cards.<\/p>\n
In many areas, GAM has conducted operations to seize
\nidentification cards from people.<\/p>\n
The TNI has previously investigated a report of civilian
\ncasualties at Cot Ijo village, also in Bireuen. The military
\nconcluded the investigation by saying it killed GAM members, not
\ncivilians as claimed by some media.<\/p>\n
TNI headquarters has moved to sue the Koran Tempo daily
\nnewspaper for printing a story sourced from AFP in relation to
\nthe attack that left 10 people dead, including a 13-year-old
\nsemi-retarded boy.<\/p>\n
The military operation, which entered its 13th day on Sunday,
\nwas marked by the shooting of Lhokseumawe municipality secretary,
\nBachtiar, by suspected GAM members as he drove to the provincial
\ncapital of Banda Aceh. Bachtiar suffered bullet wounds to his
\nlegs. He was admitted to Sigli hospital.<\/p>\n
The attack came after the administrator of martial law in
\nAceh, Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya, pledged to continue the assaults
\non GAM bases across the province.<\/p>\n
As of Sunday, the TNI says it has killed more than 100 rebels,
\nwhile the military and police have lost 13 personnel. It says 15
\ncivilians have been killed, mostly by the rebels.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, students in Bireuen will have to wait for at least
\na year before reconstruction of their burned schools is
\ncompleted.<\/p>\n
Bireuen regent Mustafa A. Glanggang said the local
\nadministration had allocated Rp 2.5 billion to build temporary
\nbuildings, with each school receiving between Rp 5 million and Rp
\n6 million.<\/p>\n
For now the students would have to study in mosques or use
\nclassrooms at other schools, he said.<\/p>\n
The local administration has begun the reconstruction.<\/p>\n
In Bireuen alone, 126 of 232 elementary school, 38 junior high
\nschools and 14 senior high schools have been burned down. GAM and
\nthe TNI blame each other.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/troops-questioned-over-violence-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}