Army chief apologizes over fatal clash
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)