Incidents illustrate offenses involving TNI members
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
One needs only to follow media reports closely to learn about the grave challenges faced by the TNI in building a professional army. The following examples show the offenses committed by members of the military and are presented at random to give an insight into the matter.
The cases presented below do not include cases that are highly publicized, such as the TNI's alleged involvement in the murder of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay and in a number of bombings.
* On Jan. 12, 2000, a chief private shot dead a hoodlum in Bandung over the allegedly unfair distribution of profits from their crimes.
* On Feb. 11, 2000, three TNI members were caught red-handed stealing shrimp from a shrimp pond belonging to PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja in Bandarlampung.
* In April, 2000, the court martial began of Lt. Agus Isrok, who was arrested in August 1999 in a raid on a Jakarta hotel. About 7,000 ecstasy pills, 500 grams of heroin, cannabis and other narcotics were found in the room. At the time, his father, Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, was the Army's top commander.
* In April, 2000, a mob detained a Navy captain accused of robbery at Belawan fishing port. The officer and his gang of robbers allegedly stole Rp 23 million from two fish traders.
* On April 12, 2000, a crowd burned a Kijang van belonging to an Army sergeant major after he and four other officers attempted to steal a motorbike in Bandung.
* On April 20, 2000, West Java Police uncovered an illegal weapons sale syndicate involving two Army sergeant majors and an Army lieutenant colonel. Police also confiscated four revolvers and an FN gun, plus dozens of bullets and an M-16 magazine from the suspects.
* On April 20, 2000, Lt. Col. Adung Buchori went on a rampage in the Cibiru Police Station in Bandung after police refused to release his son who was detained for involvement in a brawl with several street signers.
* On May 21, 2000, a member of the Military Police unit at the Iskandar Muda Air Force base in Blang Bintang was arrested in possession of 2.5 kg of dried hemp.
* On June 5, 2000, two Navy members, Second Private Didi M. and Corporal Taryono, beat two East Java provincial civilian police officers after the latter's motorcycle scratched their car.
* On June 7, 2000, two members of the Wijayakusuma Regional Military Command in Purwokerto were detained for physically abusing a masseur, Yanti, 25, at a massage parlor in Kaliori village, Banyumas regency.
* In June 2000, dozens of bus crews and drivers plying the Semarang-Surabaya route went on strike to protest the beating of a bus conductor, Suparni, 28, by members of the Diponegoro Military Command at Terboyo bus terminal in Semarang.
* On July 7, 2000, First Private Yulianto of the 643rd Infantry Battalion stationed in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara, was ordered to pay a fine of Rp 3.5 million for beating up two Catholic priests.
* On July 15, 2000, a member of 512th Field Artillery Battalion stationed in Ngawi, East Java, was beaten by a crowd after he was caught red-handed stealing a motorcycle from the Gontor Islamic boarding school in Ponorogo, East Java.
* On Aug. 4, 2000, eight members of the 744th Infantry Battalion stationed in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, were detained after they went on a rampage, killing one civilian, wounding 112 others and damaging dozens of houses after one of their fellow soldiers was killed by a market thug.
* On Aug. 9, 2000, an Army private was dishonorably discharged from his unit and later tried for stealing 7,200 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a case of 1,710 5.56mm ammunition. He was arrested by police during a routine traffic check on Aug. 9.
* On Sept. 1, 2000, Brawijaya Military Command Chief Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi said he had proposed that TNI Chief Adm. Widodo AS discharge Col. (Navy) Budo Sadiharso, chairman of the TNI/Polri faction in the East Java legislature, and Col. (Army) M. Muchtar, a member of the legislature, for forging travel permits. The two requested permits to visit Medan and Manado, but later another travel permit suddenly appeared, which turned out to be fake, granting them authorization to visit Batam, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
* In September 2000, Temanggung Police arrested an Army chief sergeant who, along with another four suspects, had committed a series of robbery along the Magelang-Temanggung highway.
* On Sept. 23, 2000, several members of the Diponegoro Military Command joined a group of 50 people to force their way into a warehouse owned by the Blora Police and took two motorcycles after first beating the police officers in charge. Nine police officers were wounded during the attack.
* On Feb. 1, 2001, hundreds of container trucks plying the Banda Aceh-Medan route began a strike to protest extortion by policemen and TNI troops. The drivers claimed they had to pay between Rp 400,000 and Rp 500,000 to security officers along the route.
* On March 20, 2001, two members of the Marines shot a police officer in a quarrel over who was in charge of security at a free dangdut show in Gaplek, Pondok Cabe, Pamulang, Tangerang. Angry onlookers detained the two Marines and handed them over to the police.
* On June 18, 2001, Air Force Sgt. Maj. Agus Jaelani and Sgt. Maj. Sutrisno were detained by the Air Force Military Police in Yogyakarta for involvement in the murder of Teguh Aribowo. The accused, along with two other civilian accomplices, killed Teguh and burned his body. The accused said they committed the murder because Teguh had cheated the four out of hundreds of millions of rupiah, land and houses.
* On June 28, 2001, a North Maluku forestry official said TNI troops contributed to the declining number of the rare Nuri birds mostly found in Halmahera. The official said thousands of Nuri birds had been illegally caught over the past two years, mostly by TNI troops stationed there to quell ethnic and religious conflicts. When the troops returned home, each carried a bird with them. "A battalion comprises between 600 and 700 troops. Imagine if each soldier carries one," said the official. The birds are sold for between Rp 100,000 and Rp 150,000 each.
* On March 14, 2002, Military Police in Jayapura arrested a first sergeant, dubbed Sertu Ekstasi (first sergeant ecstasy) by the local press, for drug dealing.
* On March 23, 2002, seven members of the Presidential Guard kidnapped and then killed Endang Hidayat, the head of Binuangeun village in Sukamanah, Malingping district, Lebak regency, Banten. The murder followed the arrest of the father of one of the suspects for buying stolen motorcycles, allegedly following a report from Endang.
* On April 30, 2002, 20 members of the Military Police ransacked the office of a newspaper in South Sulawesi over a report deemed offensive to their unit.
* On May 16, 2002 a group of around 15 Navy officers forced the Argobromo train to stop at a station in Tegal, Central Java. They also damaged a car of the Sembrani train after they failed to get on board the train, which was not scheduled to stop in Tegal.