Military Command Denies Allegations Army Forcibly Cleared School Facilities for Kopdes Merah Putih in NTT

Kodam IX/Udayana has denied accusations of intimidating residents, carrying out forced evictions, and damaging school facilities involving Indonesian Army personnel in the controversy surrounding the construction of the Kopdes Merah Putih (KDMP) in Neowula Village, Detusoko District, Ende Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The Head of Information for Kodam IX/Udayana, Colonel Inf Amrizal Nasution, clarified in Denpasar on Wednesday that information claiming acts of violence or intimidation by TNI personnel did not align with the facts on the ground. “There were no acts of intimidation, physical violence, or forced eviction attempts by TNI personnel against the community or educational facilities at the location,” he said. According to Amrizal, the viral incident began with technical obstacles during the mobilisation of heavy equipment, specifically an excavator, to the KDMP construction site on community-granted land behind SDN Neowula elementary school. “The narrow village access road and the presence of the school’s roof support structure, which was in the heavy equipment’s manoeuvring path, led to technical adjustments being made on site,” he stated. The adjustment involved cutting a portion of a support pillar located in the road access area. This step had been previously coordinated with the Head of Neowula Village and the School Committee so that the heavy equipment could pass without damaging the main school building. A similar account was also provided by Neowula Village Head Vinsensius Papa. He explained that the access used was a village road situated very close to the school building, necessitating a technical adjustment that would later be restored.