22 Army officers and chiefs dismissed over Madiun attack

22 Army officers and chiefs dismissed over Madiun attack

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 at midnight on Saturday.

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 on Monday the 20
infantry battalion members 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 followed a heated argument
between two military policemen of the infantry battalion with
Navy Second Lt. A.M. Jeremy, 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 the
two military policemen who were riding a motorcycle ignored all
the vehicles lined up for gas and cut in front of their car.

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

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 the
infantry battalion on Madiun Police station and three other
substations in the town. 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.

Ryamizard, 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 helping the
Army members, but were just watching events unfold.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi said in
Jakarta on Monday that National 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 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)