Probe into rogue officers involvement in shooting continues

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)