Troops involved in Medan brawl to be punished
Troops involved in Medan brawl to be punished
JAKARTA (JP): The Bukit Barisan Military Command promised yesterday that it will punish the soldiers who took part in a series of violent attacks against residents in the Kwala Berkala subdistrict this past week.
Dozens of people were injured and scores of houses and cars damaged in the attacks conducted by members of the Cavalry 6 assault battalion.
The attacks were believed to have been motivated by revenge for the death of Chief Private Sukadi, who was stabbed by a hoodlum last Saturday. It has not been disclosed how many soldiers were involved in the disturbances.
Bukit Barisan Chief Maj. Gen. Sedariyanto visited the subdistrict on Thursday and met with the residents to apologize for the action of his men and promised to punish the soldiers.
He also promised to repair the houses and provide compensation for the financial losses caused by the attacks.
His intervention came just as residents of the subdistrict were regrouping and planning to march towards the cavalry's barracks to exact revenge for the attacks.
The spokesman for the military command, Lt. Col. Jumiran, told The Jakarta Post by telephone from Medan yesterday that the case had been resolved and the residents had accepted Sedariyanto's apology and offer of compensation.
Jumiran said Sedariyanto had asked the chief of the Cavalry 6 assault battalion to punish the soldiers involved.
According to the military, the incident began with the stabbing to death of Chief Private Sukadi on Saturday at a Padang restaurant in Kwala Berkala subdistrict.
Sukadi had gotten into a row with a hoodlum who had come to the restaurant to collect protection money from the owners. Sukadi was rushed to a hospital after he was stabbed but he died there.
Although police had already arrested the suspect, Sukadi's colleagues were not satisfied and sought to exact revenge against the suspects' friends.
The attacks went on for the next three days ,and soldiers were beating anyone they believed to be a friend of the suspect, attacking restaurants and their patrons, and pelting houses and destroying cars.
"These soldiers were violating the law. We cannot tolerate their action. They will be dealt with in accordance with the law," Jumiran said, echoing the command chief.
He said however that this did not mean that the military would stop its operation against hoodlums who have been terrorizing the people in the city.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Hartono confirmed that while the military will punish the errant soldiers, it will not let hoodlums prevail.
"The reason why the soldiers (in Medan) went wild was the hoodlums. They were possibly under pressure," Hartono said.
He called on his men to continue the operation against hoodlums. "Eliminate hoodlums, eliminate hoodlums. That's what I've been saying all this time because it is the people who become the victims," Hartono was quoted by Antara as saying. (rms)