Reporter accuses soldier of brutality

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

A local reporter working for SCTV private television station, Muhammad Nasier, filed a complaint on Friday with the Aceh Military Operation Command in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, after a soldier slapped him across the face the previous day.

In his complaint, Nasier said he was slapped when he argued with the soldier during a routine inspection.

Nasier said the incident began when he was on his way to his home on Jl. Mawar in Cot Trieng, North Aceh.

Three soldiers stopped him when he was traveling along a street in Blang Pulo subdistrict in Lhokseumawe. He parked his motorcycle behind a Daihatsu jeep belonging to an employee of PT Aceh ASEAN Fertilizer. The Daihatsu had also been stopped and the soldiers were checking the driver's ID.

Minutes after the soldiers checked Nasir's ID card, one of the soldiers shouted at him and told him to move his motorbike from the asphalt road to the side, reasoning that military trucks would pass the road.

Nasier immediately moved his motorbike, but grumbled that it was the Daihatsu vehicle blocking the road, not his motorbike.

One of the soldiers abruptly approached Nasier and slapped his face and said: "What did you say? Think twice before you argue."

Nasier, who was shocked by the alleged assault, immediately challenged the soldier, telling him not to be emotional and not to slap someone without strong grounds.

After lodging his report of the incident the next day, he demanded that the military investigate the matter.

Nasier's case is the second assault to be officially reported to the military in Aceh. In July, the management of the 68H news radio lodged a strong protest with the martial law administration over an alleged assault on one of its journalists, Alif Imam Herlambang, in Panton Luas, South Aceh.