25 quizzed over attack in S. Sulawesi

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post/Makassar

The Wirabuana Military Command is still questioning 25 soldiers accused of being responsible for attacking and looting houses in a remote subdistrict in South Sulawesi at dawn on Tuesday.

"Some ninety of them have been questioned and of the 90, we are still questioning 25. We believe these 25 were directly involved in the attack," said Maj. Gen. Arief Budi Sampurno, the chief of the Wirabuana Military Command, which oversees military affairs in South Sulawesi province.

The two-star general said that if found guilty, they would face various punishments, of which the most lenient were administrative sanctions, such as deferred promotion, while the harshest punishment was dishonorable discharge.

There was also a possibility that the soldiers involved would face criminal prosecution in the local district court, he said.

Arief again apologized for the attack, saying it was intolerable.

"Although they had strong reasons, the attack was wrong. They are trained to attack the enemies of the state and not the people," said Arief.

During a media conference, Arief also urged the police to identify the civilians believed to have attacked First Pvt. Haerudin after a traffic accident in Banri Manurung subdistrict, Jeneponto regency, South Sulawesi. It has been reported that it was this attack that spurred the soldiers to launch an all-out assault of civilian property.

The general rejected reports that soldiers had gone on an orgy of looting, including stealing 17 sacks of rice earmarked for the poor that were stored in a house in the subdistrict. The Army did not suffer from a shortage of food, he argued. He added that the Wirabuana Military Command had sent troops into the affected subdistricts to repair the houses wrecked in the early morning attack.

According to information supplied by the military, 52 houses were damaged in the attack. However, the local governments say 82 houses were wrecked in a number of hamlets in Banri Manurung village, some 80 kilometers south of Makassar city, where the Wirabuana Military Command is based. Besides damage to property, five residents and a police officer were injured in the pandemonium.

The incident has dealt a major blow to the prestige of the Indonesian Military (TNI), which has been trying hard to restore its battered image. The military has long been the target of public criticism for its poor human rights record.