Army fires 20 soldiers over Binjai gun battle
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu dishonorably discharged on Wednesday 20 soldiers involved in the attack on police stations in Binjai that claimed eight lives and left five others injured.
Six other Army officers, including Maj. Matsumi, commander of Army Airborne Battalion 100/PS, were transferred out of the Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Riau.
The punishments, handed out during a ceremony in Medan, North Sumatra, that was attended by hundreds of soldiers, were in response to the bloody attack by soldiers from the airborne battalion on the Langkat Police station and the Mobile Brigade headquarters on Sept. 27.
The attack took place after police officers refused to release a drug trafficker said to be backed by the soldiers.
No action has been taken against Maj. Gen. Idris Gassing, chief of the military command.
Ryamizard appointed Lt. Col. Zaidun to take over as commander of the airborne battalion.
In a speech during the ceremony, the Army chief said the soldiers not only hurt themselves, but had damaged the image of the Indonesian Military, especially the Army.
"I must take stern action because you have breached the military oath and killed your counterparts in maintaining security, and your wrongdoing has tarnished the Army's image nationwide and insulted Almighty God.
"What you did here will have an impact on Army units around the country," he said.
Ryamizard also warned that he would take even stronger steps should such an incident ever occur again.
"I will dissolve military units if a similar incident takes place. I mean it," Ryamizard said.
The incident in Binjai was not the first time soldiers and police officers in the country have clashed. There have been at least 11 major incidents involving the police and soldiers in the past 22 months.
Analysts say the dismissals should be followed up with an evaluation of the regulations concerning the use of firearms and munitions by police officers and soldiers.
The analysts also urged the military to focus on defense affairs and end its interference in security matters, which are the responsibility of the police.
Speaking to the press after the ceremony, Gen. Ryamizard said the 20 discharged soldiers would be tried by a military tribunal, and another 100 to 200 soldiers from the airborne battalion would be questioned.
He also said that all of the soldiers in the airborne unit would be transferred, and that the Army would pay to repair or replace any police property damaged in the attacks.
Airborne Battalion 100/PS is one of several units under the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad). All of the units were established on May 20, 1966, with their main task to crush communist rebellions and, later, separatist movements.
The airborne units constitute a special force deployed for special missions, such as putting down communist insurgences after the Sept. 30, 1965, coup attempt and conquering East Timor in 1975.
Kostrad at present has four airborne units, which are posted in the North Sumatra town of Binjai, the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin and the Maluku capital of Ambon.