20 Infantry members, chief dismissed over Madiun incident

20 Infantry members, chief dismissed over Madiun incident

MALANG, East Java (JP): The Army's Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu has discharged chief
of Kostrad's Airborne Infantry Battalion 501 Maj. Komistin
Hadirin and his deputy Maj. Nurcholid, as well as 20 members of
the battalion, over a deadly attack on Madiun Police station and
several other police stations on Saturday night.

Two students were shot dead in the incident, while scores of
policemen and Army members were injured.

"If another such incident ever happens again, I will not show
any mercy to those involved. I'll discharge every member of a
battalion if necessary," Ryamizard was quoted by Antara as saying
after presiding over Monday's roll call of Artillery Regiment I
here.

Meanwhile, the parents of the dead students, Hendrik, 17, and
M. Adi Nugroho, 18, said they would file suit against the police
and the Army for the deaths of their sons.

"Why did they shoot my son?" said Waluyo, the father of Adi,
adding that he would take the case to the National Commission on
Human Rights should the police and military fail to respond to
his lawsuit.

In Surabaya, the spokesman for the East Java Brawijaya
Military Command, Lt. Col. Djoko Agus, said in Surabaya on Monday
that the 20 infantry battalion members involved in the incident
were in the custody of the Madiun military police. "They are
waiting for legal processing for the offense," he said. "We are
investigating the case very seriously."

Fierce attacks by members of Infantry Battalion 501 on Madiun
Police station and three substations occurred after a heated
argument between two men on a motorcycle with Navy Second Lt.
A.M. Jeremy and Army Second Lt. Azis and police Second Lt. Tatit
Muji Widodo. The three men were out of uniform.

The three lieutenants were in a car queued up to buy gasoline
at a gas station near the town square. They became upset when two
men on a motorbike ignored all the vehicles lined up for gas and
cut in front of their car.

It later became known that the two men on the motorcycle were
members of Infantry Battalion 501.

The three officers and the two military policemen began to
argue, which escalated when a large number of members of the
infantry battalion arrived at the scene and helped the military
policemen.

Police Second Lt. Tatit fired a warning shot, which did not
stop the fighting. One of the military policemen tried to grab
Tatit's gun and was shot in the leg.

The brawl led to an attack by about 300 members of Infantry
Battalion 501 on Madiun Police station on Jl. Pahlawan, and three
other substations in the town at midnight on Saturday. One
traffic police post in the precinct was destroyed.

Other buildings were also attacked and damaged, including the
police hospital. Several police vehicles were also destroyed.
Many police officers were seriously injured in the attack.

Another attack took place an hour later when more than 50 Army
members returned to the police precinct and destroyed other
buildings. Scores of civilians were reportedly following the Army
in the attack.

Rymizard, however, strongly denied an allegation that some
Army members were equipped with guns during the attack, and that
the Army members were helped by civilians.

The police earlier claimed that the civilians were not helping
the Army members, but were just watching events unfold.

Last April, police officers were involved in brawl with
members of the Navy in Cirebon, West Java. No fatalities were
reported.

In other areas, including Maluku, Central Kalimantan and Irian
Jaya, fatal clashes between the police and the Army have also
taken place in the past.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Didi Widayadi said in
Jakarta on Monday that Nation Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro
had instructed all parties in the police force to remain calm in
their reaction to events in Madiun and to refrain from entering
into "institutional" feuds.

Following the incident, a joint investigative team of police
and military personnel was deployed to probe the case.

Also in Jakarta, a member of House of Representatives (DPR)
Commission I, Permadi, said that the clash indicated that
discipline among police and Army officers was still very poor.
"Army and police leaders have failed to build discipline among
their members." (emf/nur/sur)