Angel Flassy and Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Jakarta | Fri, 05/01/2009 2:50 PM
A violent protest by soldiers from the Sentani army base in Papua on Wednesday has prompted the Army to dismiss the Battalion 751 commander Lt. Col. Labok Sihotang.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Agus Hadi Sasono held a closed-door meeting at 8 a.m. local time *6 a.m. Jakarta time* on Thursday with high-ranking officials at the Cenderawasih Military Command in Jayapura.
"We have decided to dismiss the battalion's commander, deputy commander and intelligence assistant due to poor leadership," Agus said.
He also apologized to journalists, who were attacked by soldiers during the protest. One journalist had his camera broken and Agus promised that the Army would pay compensation for the damage.
Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso apologized to people in Sentani for the behavior of his military personnel.
"I regret the incident and send my apologies to the Sentani people and the media workers for the inconvenience caused," he said in Jakarta.
"Those who are found guilty will face justice and be punished."
Santoso said he had reported the incident to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who ordered a thorough investigation.
"The Army chief of staff is there *in Sentani* now. The situation is now under control. We are waiting for a report from the Army chief of staff and will impose fair sanctions *on those found guilty*," he said, adding the military would legally process those found responsible, perhaps in a military court.
To prevent similar incidents from recurring, Santoso promised the TNI would improve the discipline of its soldiers.
He, however, seemingly defended commander Sihotang's action, explaining that sending the remains of dead soldier Priv. Joko to Nabire would require chartering a plane at a cost of Rp 90 million (US$8,400).
"The battalion could not bear the cost, so it was decided that it would pay half *of the cost* and the other half would be shared *among the soldiers*," he said.
Violence erupted on Wednesday as Battalion 751 Sentani soldiers' protested the embezzlement of money from their salaries by their commanding officer. Coincidently, the riot broke out during celebrations held to mark West Papua's integration into Indonesia.
The 167 soldiers demanded that their commander, Sihotang, be held responsible for taking money from the soldiers to pay for the burial of Priv. Joko in his hometown in Nabire. They had demanded to meet with the Army's chief of staff but were not granted their request. Dejected, the soldiers began to destroy buildings within the military base.
The situation in Sentani was back to normal on Wednesday night.
