President orders probe into hospital incident

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid on Sunday ordered leaders of the military and police to carry out a thorough investigation of the Oct. 20 attack at the health facility of Jakarta Hospital.

Speaking in a dialogue with local people in Bali after a joint prayer meeting between Moslems, Christians, Buddhists and Hinduists on Sunday, the newly elected President also wanted those responsible for last Wednesday's attack to be punished adequately.

"Find the guilty people. Whoever is found guilty (later) has to be punished based on the existing laws" said Wahid, who's in the tourist resort island of Bali for a three-day international seminar entitled "Indonesia Next".

Jakarta Hospital on Jl. Sudirman was turned into a war zone last Wednesday midnight when frustrated military officers ran amok, searching for suspected militant students hiding on the premises.

The armed security personnel broke into the hospital's four- story administration building, broke the windows and doors and fired several gas canisters into the basement.

A number of people were injured and dragged away, while four rooms used as the kitchen, administration, central sterilization for surgical equipment and a laundry were heavily damaged during the attack, which has sparked anger from many people and institutions.

Nothing has been heard from the military, while the Jakarta Police through its chief, Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman, has repeatedly apologized for the incident.

On Sunday, Noegroho told reporters that he would also take full responsibility for the incident and would pay for all damages caused.

The hospital has announced that damages in the incident caused a total loss of at least Rp 3 billion.

"Repair work has already started at the hospital. I hope all of this will end soon," Noegroho said after addressing some 500 police officers in a ceremony marking the withdrawal of security troops deployed in the capital's streets following the recent completion of the general session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

When asked to comment on the strong demands by several political figures and institutions for his resignation over the attack by the security personnel, Noegroho, who was in charge of city security personnel during the Assembly's session, simply replied: "Let people say what they want to say.

I have always tried to do my job to the best of my abilities. I will say nothing more." (ylt)