Victims not to sue culprit in Madiun spat

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.