More soldiers to be discharged over disgraceful Binjai incident
More soldiers to be discharged over disgraceful Binjai incident
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Eight other Army officers of Army Airborne Battalion 100/PS will
soon be discharged from the Bukit Barisan Military Command,
following the recent bloody attack on the Langkat Police station
and on the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in the North
Sumatra town of Binjai, a senior military official said on
Saturday.
Maj. Gen. Idris Gassing, chief of the military command
overseeing North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Riau said the decision
was made in a bid to help the investigative team in determining
the cause of the incident.
Speaking to the press after the celebration of the 57th
anniversary of the Indonesian Military on Saturday at the Naval
Base I Belawan harbor, Medan, Idris admitted that the actions of
his personnel were dishonorable but he could not have anticipated
the incident.
"As the military commander for this area, I apologize for my
servicemen's misconduct and I give my word that I will repair or
replace any police property damaged in the incidents," he said.
The attack took place on Sept. 27 after police officers
refused to release a drug trafficker said to be protected by the
soldiers. Seven policemen, one military personnel, and three
civilians were killed during the clash. In addition, 27 security
officers and one civilian were hospitalized with severe injuries.
Earlier, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu discharged
20 soldiers on Wednesday involved in the incident.
He appointed Lt. Col. Zaidun to take over as commander of the
airborne battalion and said that all of the soldiers in the
airborne unit would be transferred.
The discharged soldiers will be tried by a military tribunal,
and another 100 to 200 soldiers from the airborne battalion will
be questioned further about their knowledge of the attacks.
Airborne Battalion 100/PS is one of several units under the
Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) tasked with crushing
rebellions and separatist movements.
Currently four airborne units are posted in the North Sumatra
town of Binjai, the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, the South
Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin and the Maluku capital of
Ambon.
Ryamizard had also floated the idea of dismissing Idris from
his current post as Bukit Barisan military commander.
When asked about the possibility of being replaced, Idris said
that he was ready.
Separately, unidentified men shot a policeman on Jl. Bambu in
Medan on Friday morning.
He indicated that certain parties were circulating rumors that
Army soldiers were involved in Friday's shooting.
"I hope none of my soldiers from Bukit Barisan Military
Command are affected by this rumor," he said.