'Rank and file' blame in Liquisa

'Rank and file' blame in Liquisa

BANDUNG (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono reported
that an army investigation has determined that their "rank and
file" followed the wrong procedures in the military's Jan. 12
operation in Liquisa, East Timor, that left six villagers dead.

But he stressed yesterday that the Army's Officers Honor
Council now probing the incident is not holding local senior
military leaders above reproach.

"It is okay to presume that some senior army leaders were
responsible because they controlled (the operation)," Hartono
told journalists after swearing Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi in as the
new Siliwangi Military Command overseeing security in West Java.

In a military operation, he said, the abuse of procedure could
result in disaster and those responsible for the mistake must
take responsibility and be punished.

He declined to mention what punishment the guilty soldiers
face.

"Let's see what the council comes up with when they turn in
their report by the deadline early next month," he said.

Seven representatives from the 36-member council recently
visited East Timor to follow up on the earlier findings of ABRI
and the National Commission on Human Rights.

Council chief Maj. Gen. Muzani Syukur, whom Maj. Gen. Tarmadi
replaced, said that his investigators had visited Liquisa and
that the probe was nearly complete.

"We have reported on all the facts that we found in the field
and our work is almost finished," said Muzani, who was promoted
to Army Inspector General.

Born in the West Java regency of Karawang on Feb.17, 1943,
Tayo Tarmadi was formerly chief of staff of the Wirabuana
military district, which oversees security in Sulawesi.

A 1966 graduate from the National Military Academy, Tarmadi
began his military career at the Siliwangi command. He took part
in the suppression of communist rebellion in 1965 and military
operations in East Timor in the late 1970s.

In 1973, he was a member of Indonesia's peace-keeping force in
Vietnam.

Yesterday, Hartono also swore in Maj. Gen. H.A. Rivai as the
new commandant of the Infantry Arsenal Center, replacing Maj.
Gen. Arifin Tarigan.

Rivai was previously in the infantry division of the Army
Strategic Reserve Command. Arifin will become the new commandant
of the Army Staff and Command College and will be sworn in here
today.(pan/pet)