Police, military chiefs meet to clear the air
Police, military chiefs meet to clear the air
AMBON, Maluku (JP): Military and police commanders in Maluku
sat down together on Tuesday to patch-up growing rivalry and
antagonism amongst their personnel on the field.
Pattimura Military chief of staff Col. Syarifuddin Sumah who
hosted the meeting at his headquarters, admitted that discussions
centered around the "sporadic communal conflicts and dispute
between personnel."
"We hope that none of these incidents will recur in the
future," Syarifuddin remarked.
Last week a gunfight erupted between Navy Marines and the
Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob). One policeman was killed, while
17 police and military personnel were injured.
"Small conflicts must be settled by field commanders in a
peaceful way. There is no need to create unnecessary sparks among
security forces," Syarifuddin added.
Among those who attended Tuesday's meeting were Maluku Police
chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani, Eastern Sea Security Fleet
Commander Commodore Sutarto, Naval Base Commander in Maluku and
Irian Jaya Commodore Yusuf Solichin, Ambon Naval Base chief Lt.
Col. Chaidir Pattorani.
According to Firman Gani a Brimob officer along with several
Marine personnel are being questioned by a special team from the
military police over the incident.
Syarifuddin further appealed to the public not to exacerbate
the situation.
"We're asking people to remain calm and to not make a big fuss
about this. The officers from both units must also be calm as all
matters will be handled according to procedure," he said.
"Do not judge or take sides among the units. This is actually
a small matter but could potentially lead to a bigger conflict,"
he said.
Syarifuddin also pointed out that part of a rotation of duty
of some 600 personnel of Military Battalion 733/Masariku and 200
soldiers from Military Batallion 732/Banau will be deployed to
Atambua in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) by the end of the month.
"The remaining troops plus the joint battalion of Navy
Marines, Air Force Paskhas and Army Kopassus will remain in
Maluku," he said.
The joint battalion -- led by Maj. Ricky Samuel from Kopassus
-- "is believed to be an effective crack riot unit which has
proved to be professional and impartial in doing their job to
quell riots in Maluku," Syarifuddin remarked while adding that
these units have above average military skills and are not
contaminated by conflict.
"So allegations by certain parties about their involvement in
riots are baseless," the officer added. (49/edt)