Djada tells soldiers to improve professionalism

Djada tells soldiers to improve professionalism

JAKARTA (JP): City Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja
Suparman underlined on Wednesday the importance of improving
soldiers' professionalism in order to provide better service to
society.

Speaking ahead of the commemoration of the command's 49th
anniversary on Thursday, Djadja said that his office had started
upgrading professionalism by, among other things, imposing heavy
sanctions on soldiers who had acted against the normal procedures
in security operations.

"The Armed Forces (ABRI) member is also a human. He is not
perfect and he may also be worn out with all his duties. He is
not a superhero who is obliged to be the greatest man in the
world."

"We understand this fact and try endlessly to eliminate our
flaws," Djadja said after making a devotional visit to Kalibata
Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta on Wednesday as part of a series
of events to commemorate the command's anniversary.

He admitted that many of his soldiers had committed violations
in security operations in the capital during the year, but he
said that the soldiers' behavior was in their individual
capacities.

"If there are soldiers who handled protesters rudely as was
displayed on TV... that's the actions of individuals. They
surely receive punishment and must take the responsibility.
Institutionally our rules do not provide opportunities for them
to do so," he said

Djadja was referring to the TV news transmitted nationwide
depicting soldiers who beat and shot at street protesters.

"Certainly there are soldiers who behave that way, especially
when the situation is out of control of the commander or because
the circumstances at that moment goad the soldiers to act against
the rules," he said.

This year ABRI has received public criticism for the way it
dealt with street protesters.

After the Black Friday incident at the Semanggi cloverleaf in
Central Jakarta on Nov. 13, some 144 personnel from various
military units were to be arraigned for opening fire at
protesters without receiving orders from their superiors during
the incident.

Twelve soldiers have also been "disciplined" for failing to
control their subordinates during the unrest which earned ABRI
the public's wrath, and 19 other soldiers have received
disciplinary sanctions for beating up protesters.

Four Army members would also face court-martial for beating up
journalists in an incident on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta
on Nov. 12.

The city military also launched investigations into the recent
incident at the Senayan flyover and the shooting incident at the
Cawang flyover afterwards to find any soldiers who had violated
the riot procedure in dispersing student rallies.

Djadja, who was installed as the city military commander in
July, also said that his office had reviewed the military's ways
of handling riots.

"At last we have made guidelines, so that in handling a riot
we would first look at the type of rally."

"If it is just a moral intellectual movement voicing
aspirations of certain parties or the majority of people and is
conducted in line with the existing rules, we will face it
without a multitude of soldiers, and let the police handle it,"
he said.

He reiterated that the deployment of soldiers in the security
operations in the capital was the requirements of the police and
the governor.

During the visit, Djadja and the other command officials
strewed flowers on several graves, including the seven Army
officers who died during an aborted coup on Sept. 30, 1965, and
the former city military commander, the late Lt. Gen. (ret)
Norman Sasono. (ivy)