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)