Probe into rogue officers involvement in shooting continues

AMBON, Maluku (JP): A second Military Police fact-finding team on Thursday continued the investigation into the alleged involvement of 14 members of the police and military in inciting unrest by shooting at troops who were trying to quell rioting by a frenzied mob.

A team of five Military Police officers, led by Col. Armen B, has been assigned to complete the dossiers on the Wijaya II Hotel shooting incident which had earlier been investigated by a joint military and police team.

"The second team arrived here on Sunday and will be in town for the next couple of weeks. They're going to continue the probe and seek out more evidence," Pattimura Military Chief of Staff Col. Syarifuddin Sumah said on Thursday.

The officer said that two of the 14 suspects allegedly involved in the incident, Maj. Nurdin Nontji of the Pattimura Military Command and police officer Adj. Sr. Comr. Jati Waramas Saragih, had been transferred to Jakarta last week.

"The two are being processed at their respective headquarters in Jakarta," he said.

The Military Police team interviewed on Thursday the remaining 12 police and military personnel who are being held at Maluku Military Police headquarters in the Batu Gajah area.

Syarifuddin, however, dismissed allegations that the second team was dispatched due to the incompetence of the first group of investigators.

"The Military Police must gather details, cross-check the data on each suspect involved based on the first team's findings, and deal with other technical matters in collaboration with the police and naval internal affairs units," he said.

The first team, led by assistant for intelligence to the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief of general affairs Brig. Gen. Zulfahmi, had begun their probe with an in-the-field inspection of the scene and by questioning the witnesses and suspects on Jan. 26.

"Initial findings show that there were forces in the field who were not attached to any particular unit when the incident took place on Jan. 22 and that the 14 officers were involved in the rogue shootings," Syarifuddin said.

The alleged involvement of the 14 suspects centers around an incident in which the members of a combined security forces patrol came under fire as they were trying to quell a riot on Jan. 22 on the border between the Batu Merah and Mardika areas.

When the position of the snipers was ascertained as being in the nearby Hotel Wijaya II, the troops raided the establishment and captured several military and police officers still holding their weapons.

The soldiers who conducted the combined security forces raid comprised elite troops from the Navy's Marines, Air Force's Paskhas and Army's Kopassus.

Meanwhile in North Maluku, it is reported that all flights to and from Ternate have been canceled due to bad weather.

"The rough weather is making it impossible for the planes to land or take off from Ternate," Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani told The Jakarta Post from Maluku on Thursday.

Regular flights using Cassa 212 and Fokker 27 aircraft usually ply the Ternate - Manado - Ambon and Ternate - Buli in Maba district - Halmahera route.

"We hope that the weather improves. The rain keeps on falling and the strong winds have also lead to rough seas so the port officials also have to watch out and not let any ships sail in the bad weather," Firman said.

Thick fog and rain reportedly affected North Maluku from Wednesday to Thursday, with the rain causing flooding in several villages in the islands.

Back in Ambon, a group of 22 traditional village chiefs from the Ambon islands rejected the plan to elevate the status of their villages to subdistrict level, calling on the government and the House of Representatives to reconsider the proposals.

"This plan will destroy the customary and traditional institutions which have survived for hundreds of years," Nusaniwe village chief Ruben Latuari said after meeting with Ambon City Council on Wednesday.

Law No. 20/1999 on Village Administration provides for the granting of subdistrict status to villages. (edt/49)