Veterans urge caution on shoot-on-sight order
Veterans urge caution on shoot-on-sight order
JAKARTA (JP): Retired officers on Tuesday urged caution
in the carrying out of orders to shoot rioters on sight to
prevent unnecessary killing of suspects and innocent people.
Military observer Hasnan Habib criticized the statement of
National Police Chief Gen. Roesmanhadi that officers could be
dismissed if they did not dare to open fire on rioters. Such a
statement "could lead to reckless shooting," he said as quoted by
Antara.
Chairman of the Association of Retired Military Officers
(Pepabri) Gen. (ret.) Try Sutrisno said while he agreed with the
heightened response to unrest, the orders should be in line with
procedures including the use of prior warning shots, types of
bullets involved and targeted parts of the body.
Hasnan said further that Armed Forces (ABRI) personnel
involved in carrying out the order should be professionals to
prevent rioters being shot in the head instead of in the leg, the
agency reported.
Reports have cited dozens of cases in which police have shot
suspects dead, while police have said they were all resisting
arrest or attempting escape.
Crowds should be differentiated from rioters, he added. Hasnan
said the measure would hopefully be effective, and was quoted as
saying that it would not imply the "to kill or be killed" concept
applied in war.
The retired officers of the association had visited Armed
Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, also the Minister of Defense and
Security at headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta. The
delegation including former minister of defense and security Edi
Sudrajat said they had requested input from the ABRI leadership
before a planned national level meeting of the association in the
near future. The association, together with the armed forces, is
part of the ABRI Big Family.
Activists said Monday that capturing the masterminds behind
recent unrest would be better than announcing a shoot-on-sight
order.
Wiranto had announced the order on Saturday saying the current
widespread violence could no longer be tolerated but that the
order would be carried out only if necessary.
The veterans' association has come into the spotlight
regarding its statement that members were free to join any party
and no longer had to support the ruling party Golkar as they have
for decades.
Edi is an executive of the new Justice and Unity Party set up
by dissident senior members of Golkar. (anr)