Victims not to sue culprit in Madiun spat

By Tarko Sudiarno

MADIUN, East Java (JP): Recovering in a hospital bed from his gunshot wound, Agung, the victim of a clash between the military and the police last Saturday at midnight, is trying to recall what happened that fateful night.

"I was lying on the ground, half conscious after being shot.

"I was aware that armed policemen were around me. One of them stepped on my head to see if I had been killed, saying to the others 'this one's dead'," the young man told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Members of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Airborne Infantry Battalion 501 attacked the Madiun Police station and three other stations at midnight on Sept. 15.

Three teenagers were shot dead during the clash, while several policemen and Army personnel were injured.

Agung and 27 of his friends were riding on 14 motorcycles in front of the police station when policemen fired live ammunition, he said. Agung was not aware that a clash had just occurred between Kostrad troops and the police.

Agung's claim seems to conform with those of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto. In a hearing with the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Endriartono said that the three teenagers killed in the clash were shot by the police.

He said the shooting took place shortly after all Kostrad soldiers had fled the police station in downtown Madiun.

Former Madiun Police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eddy Hariyanto said the teenagers were killed because they passed the station along with infantry men who were launching a second attack.

"But nobody knows yet who fired the shots at them. We exchanged fire when the two groups approached each other in the second encounter," said Eddy Hariyanto, who was transferred to the East Java Police Headquarters after the incident.

Agung's parents, who were at the city's Soedono Hospital, said they were very much relieved to see their son recuperating. They said they would not take any legal action as long as their hospital bills were paid for.

Another parent whose son was killed in the incident said he had no intention to sue the police.

"Would my son come back to life if I did so?" asked Abdul Haris, the father of Taufiq Rahman.

Two sidewalk vendors at city square said the clash had broken out at one corner of the square.

This contradicts earlier reports which said the clash was triggered by a small dispute at a gas station close to the square.

Three Kostrad lieutenants were in a car lining up for fuel at a gas station near the town square. They became upset when two military policemen, who were riding a motorcycle, ignored all the vehicles in the line and cut in front of their car.

The three officers and two military policemen began to argue, which escalated when a large number of infantry battalion members arrived on the scene and helped the military policemen.

One infantry member fired a warning shot, which did not stop the fighting, and when one military policeman tried to grab his gun, the policeman was shot in the leg.

A station attendant who was on duty last Saturday night also refuted the report.

"There was no fighting here. The report is not true. The clash began in a corner of the square," he said pointing to the square about 100 meters away.

He said he was so furious about the report that he called a newspaper but his claim was never mentioned.

Residents said the square was a favorite hangout for youths at night.

The police estimated the damage incurred by the deadly clash amounts to Rp 300 million.

Sources at Madiun Military Police said the case was still being investigated.

Tense relations between Madiun Police and infantry members began to ease on Friday following a joint rally at the city square. They repaired the damaged police stations together.

Endriartono said at Wednesday's hearing with the legislators that some of the troop members had behaved inappropriately recently. Some were drinking alcohol even on duty.

He attributed the clash between the police and the military in Madiun to scrambling for positions in protecting clandestine businesses, such as gambling dens and the drug trade.

Madiun Police spokesman Ketut Pramana said the police had set up a joint program with the military to ensure there were better relations in the future.

"We may hold a sports competition soon between the existing forces," he said.

Pramana said he hoped these events would prevent possible friction between security and defense units in the city.

Madiun is home to a number of police and military bases.