27 soldiers detained for desertion

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: At least 27 soldiers were detained after deserting Naibonat Military Headquarters in East Nusa Tenggara province, a local military officer said on Thursday.

The runaway troops, all Ambonese, fled the headquarters on Jan. 26 after being told they would not join a deployment of soldiers to their war-torn homeland of Maluku.

Captain Longginus Lelo, spokesman for the Kupang Wirasakti Military Command in East Nusa Tenggara, said the 27 soldiers were found at the home of an Ambonese man who resides in Kupang.

The soldiers were members of Maluku's Pattimura Military Command, but were assigned to the Udayana Military Command overseeing East Nusa Tenggara and Bali when the religious conflict first erupted in the Maluku islands in 1999, Longginus said.

"Based on our investigation, the 27 soldiers left the Naibonat headquarters because of their disappointment over their commander's decision to exclude them from assignments in Maluku and North Maluku," Longginus told The Jakarta Post.

He said that under military regulations, troops from conflict areas were not allowed to serve in their hometowns, in order to ensure the impartiality of the military in these areas.

Longginus said local military authorities would decide on the punishment for the 27 soldiers. --JP