Military Command to sue UKI authorities and students

Military Command to sue UKI authorities and students

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Military Command will file lawsuits
against students and four representatives of the Indonesian
Christian University (UKI) in East Jakarta for assaulting a
soldier and denying his freedom of movement, an official said on
Wednesday.

The command's spokesman, Lt. Col. DJ. Nachrowi, said that the
students were involved in attacking 24-year-old First Private
Jumbadi from the Special Armored Vehicles group of the 7th
Cavalry Battalion near the campus on Dec. 18 would be sued
individually.

The four UKI representatives to face the charges would be
Tunggul P. Sirait and Adrianus Siregar, respectively the
university's rector and his assistant in charge of student
affairs; an unnamed officer responsible for security on the day
of the incident and the university's student senate.

"We will report to the city police in a couple of days and
file both civil and criminal suits with the East Jakarta District
Court," he said in a media briefing at the command's
headquarters.

If found guilty, the responsible parties could be sentenced
under Article 333 and 351 of the criminal code which carry
maximum punishments of nine years and five years in prison
respectively.

The command also demanded that the guilty parties make a
quarter page public apology in local newspapers addressed to
Jumbadi and his institution for three consecutive months, he
said.

The incident was believed to have been sparked by an earlier
clash near the Cawang flyover, when unidentified soldiers
reportedly fired at a Himpurna bus carrying UKI students home
after they had staged a rally under the Senayan flyover.

Jumbadi's belongings, including Rp 400,000 in cash, identity
cards, combat uniform, a magazine and a bag filled with rubber
bullets and bayonet were taken away.

Nachrowi said that the law suits would be filed to uphold the
existing laws and also to help prevent Jumbadi's colleagues from
attacking the students.

"Shortly after the incident, Jumbadi's colleagues tried to
invade the campus in their individual capacities. We showed our
goodwill by securing the area, deploying armored vehicles and
troops. I don't know what would have happened if we had failed to
do so," he said.

He said that no UKI representatives had tried to explain to
the command about the incident. They were not available for
comment on Wednesday.

Jumbadi, who showed up in the media briefing, will be
accompanied by three legal advisors from the command's legal
affairs department, namely Maj. Simamora, Maj. Oke Riyanto and
Capt. Subagijo.

He recalled that more than 50 people had assaulted him with
others just looking on. "I was pulled out of the bus and
attacked. They took me into the campus where many others waited,
including girls... I still slightly remember their faces," he
said.

Subagijo said that his client would let the police
investigate the responsible parties. He said that his department
had collected evidence to support the charges, which included a
medical report showing that his client had suffered severe
injuries to the upper part of his body.

According to the command, Jumbadi was seized by the UKI
students during a special operation and was beaten until he fell
unconscious in the campus. He was reportedly stripped of his
uniform and sexually assaulted by the crowd.

During the operation which was conducted at about 4 a.m., the
students stopped all public transportation passing in front of
the campus to ensure that no one found the soldier. (ivy)