TNI to rotate 100 soldiers involved in Batam clash

JAKARTA. The Indonesian Military (TNI) has imposed sanctions on 100 soldiers from the 134 Tuah Sakti infantry batallion in Batam, Riau Islands, for attacking the Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters on Nov. 19.

The soldiers will be dispatched to a variety of regions in the east of the country as part of their punishment and to deter other troops from committing such a serious breach of military discipline in the future.

“There are about 100 soldiers who committed military offenses. They will be rotated to areas in eastern Indonesia. We have also replaced the battalion commander,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said before attending a TNI leadership meeting at its headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta on Monday.

According to Gatot, the Army and the National Police had jointly investigated the incident which left one soldier dead. The team found two personnel had a prominent role in the incident and both of them were awaiting court martial.

Realizing that social jealousy is one of major sources of the frequent conflicts between police and soldiers, the Army has said it will aim to provide better welfare for soldiers including financially and with housing facilities.

More than 120 soldiers from the battalion which was involved in the attack on the police lived in rented houses outside the military compound. The military will soon provide them with housing facilities.

“The construction will be accomplished within four months [...] and none of the soldiers will be allowed to live outside the compound,” Gatot stated.

Separately TNI chief Gen. Moeldoko pointed out that the rotation would act as education for the soldiers. He expected that in the future the soldiers would follow orders and uphold their discipline, unlike during the attack when they defied their commanding officers’ orders.

“We want to rotate them so they will not mess around again in the same place,” Moeldoko said, adding that the 100 soldiers would be deployed to different battalions to avoid similar trouble occurring again.

Dozens of soldiers rampaged through the Brimob headquarters last month. They ignored the direct orders of Bukit Barisan Army chief Maj. Gen. Winston Simanjuntak to surrender to him.

The incident, which lasted for almost seven hours, left one soldier dead, identified as First Pvt. Jack Marpaung, and a local street vendor, Kambani, was injured.

The attack followed a similar clash between Brimob personnel and soldiers following an attempted police raid on a suspected illegal fuel-storage facility in Batam in September. Four soldiers sustained gunshot wounds during that incident.

“The soldiers like to fight because they lack professionalism,” Moeldoko suggested as a reason for the soldiers’ attitude.

During the two-day leadership meeting, starting on Dec. 22, the military top brass is expected to discuss boosting soldiers’ discipline.

In the future the TNI plans to upgrade the basic military code for all soldiers.

Another effort will be to improve soldiers’ welfare so they do not seek additional income apart from their official salaries.

“They need better wages, housing and health insurance,” Moeldoko said. (Nani Afrida)