Wed, 19 Sep 2001

Army chief apologizes over fatal clash

JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto apologized on Tuesday for Saturday's deadly clash in Madiun, East Java, while the death toll reached three following the death of another teenager who was shot in the incident.

"As the most senior chief in the Army, I hereby apologize for the incident that claimed the lives of those people," he said during a blood donation campaign at the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) headquarters in Cijantung, Jakarta.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Adm. Widodo A.S., who also attended the event, admitted that TNI had failed to build discipline among soldiers.

"The incident indicates mismanagement of TNI's human resources. We are awaiting the investigation result, and I have no doubts about imposing stern measures on those found guilty."

The fatal clash involved hundreds of members of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Airborne Infantry Battalion 501 and the Madiun Police.

Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu declared on Monday that the chief of the Infantry Battalion 501 and his deputy, as well as 20 battalion members, had been discharged over the clash.

Meanwhile, the situation in Madiun, some 170 kilometers southwest of the East Java capital of Surabaya, became tense again on Tuesday as hundreds of students from various senior high schools and universities took to the streets on their way home from the burial of a friend, Taufikurrahman, 18, who had been shot during the commotion. The two other fatalities were Hendrik, 17, and Adi Nugroho, 18. Yelling antipolice and antimilitary slogans, the angry students thronged the mayoralty and local legislative council building, demanding that the deaths of their friends be investigated thoroughly.

On Saturday members of Infantry Battalion 501 attacked Madiun police station on Jl. Pahlawan and three other subprecinct stations, destroying a police hospital and several vehicles.

The attacks were triggered by fighting between two members of Infantry Battalion 501 and three lieutenants, Navy Second Lt. A.M. Jeremy, Army Second Lt. Azis and Police Second Lt. Tatit Muji Widodo over a relatively trivial matter at a gas station near the square.

Some reports said that teenagers supported the Army in the second attack on Madiun police station about one hour after the first. Others said, however, that the teenagers were merely passing the clash area on their way home from a friend's party.

The two shot teenagers died instantly and five others, including Taufikurrahman, were rushed to the hospital. At least 17 police officers and two Army personnel were also injured in the clash.

The police estimated that damage caused by the attack reached around Rp 300 million. The Army has agreed with the police to repair jointly the damage caused by the clash.

In a related development, military police chief Maj. Gen. Djasrie Marin said in Jakarta on Tuesday that at least 120 members of Infantry Battalion 501 were being intensively questioned (by local military police) over the attack.

"Soon after completing the probe, we will hand over the case to a Military tribunal," Djasrie said.

National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said, during a hearing with Commission I of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, that psychological problems had led to the clash.

He cited as an example that many policemen had been transferred from one conflict area to another within the archipelago, with very little time off to rest with their families.

"The incident was just a trigger. There are psychological problems that underlie the clash. It is a substantive problem that needs comprehensive investigation," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the hearing.

Bimantoro promised that an internal investigation would be conducted by the police and that they would provide the victims' parents with financial assistance for the burial of their sons. (09/tso/sur)