Maluku military helps police to hunt blast suspects

Maluku military helps police to hunt blast suspects

Oktovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Maluku

Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso, chief of the Pattimura Military Command
overseeing Maluku and North Maluku, threw his weight behind a
police move to locate the whereabouts of Berty Loupatty alias
Berty Coker, who is the leader of the notorious Coker group, in
relation to the investigation into acts of terrorism and a series
of bomb blasts in Ambon, the capital of Maluku, and on Saparua
island.

Djoko also vowed that his command would act resolutely
against any military personnel involved in the crimes.

In an apparent bid to show its support, he said the command
had assigned two officers to assist the police during the
manhunt.

"We support the hunt, and two officers from the command have
been sent to join the police," Djoko told a press briefing here
on Friday.

The two-star general admitted that long before he was posted
to Maluku, he had heard about how the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus) employed Berty as an informant in the territory.

However, as soon as he received reports that Berty was
indicated to have been involved in various crimes, he immediately
instructed the Kopassus officers who "took care of" Berty to let
the latter go.

"I heard reports that Berty is a Kopassus informant and he is
kept safe in a Kopassus post in the Mardika area, near the Amans
Hotel. As soon as I found out that he was involved in various
crimes, I ordered the officers to let him go or send him back
home," Djoko said.

Insinuating a lack of coordination on the part of the local
police, Djoko said he had heard about the arrest of 15 suspects
for the blasts and acts of terrorism from the mass media, rather
than from the police.

The suspects have been transferred to National Police
Headquarters in Jakarta for further questioning.

Djoko also voiced his concern that military personnel were
often alleged to be involved in incidents without any information
being given to the command.

"I'm concerned as people often point the finger at military
personnel when an incident occurs. If they (soldiers) are proven
guilty, they will be punished severely," Djoko said, citing the
measures taken against Chief Pvt. Kanafi who was punished and
dismissed from the military after he along Berty was involved
several armed robberies in the city.

Separately, command spokesman Maj. Herry Suhardi said that 600
personnel from the 733 Masariku Airborne Infantry Battalion in
the city would be sent back to Papua on Sunday after serving a
one-year assignment in the province. But he declined to give
comments on whether the pullout has something to do with the
allegation into soldiers' involvement in the prolonged conflict
in the province.

Herry also disclosed that Ambon Military chief Col. Hudawi
Lubis would be replaced by Col. Toni Husodo, who was now serving
as an operations assistant to the Pattimura Military commander.

Hudawi was to return to his home base, Kopassus Headquarters
in Cijantung, East Jakarta.