Corrupt senior Army man removed

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

An Army commander has been removed from his post for imposing illegal fees on people crossing the border of Indonesia and East Timor.

Col. Moeswarno Moesanip, the chief of Wirasakti military resort command overseeing East Nusa Tenggara, said that the Army commander in question was Lt. Col. C. M, the commander of the Border Security Task Force.

"He is someone whom Army personnel cannot look up to. He has tarnished the image of the Indonesian Military (TNI), therefore he has to be removed," Moeswarno said.

Moeswarno said that the Army commander had been dispatched back to his battalion in the Brawijaya military command in East Java.

He said that the decision to remove the Army commander from his post was made after an investigation found him guilty of imposing illegal charges on people crossing the border of Indonesia and East Timor.

"We followed up reports from the media and people. After investigation, we found him guilty and removed him from his post," said Moeswarno.

He said that the decision was also reached after consultation with officials at the Brawijaya military command and Wirasakti's intelligence officers in the field.

Currently, some 1,500 Army personnel are deployed in the 150 kilometer-long border of Indonesia and East Timor.

Recently, the resort command dismissed 38 Army personnel under its supervision after they were declared guilty by Kupang military court of various crimes, desertion and immoral conduct.