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Police chief calls for reconciliation following Batam clash
National Police chief Gen
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ational Police chief Gen. Sutarman has called on his personnel in Batam, Riau Islands, to start working on mending their relations with members of the Army's 134 Tuah Sakti infantry battalion following a bloody clash on Wednesday.
'There is much work to do. The state needs to be protected, the country's progress must continue. Don't allow such an incident to happen again. Let the leaders handle the issue, including the investigation. The Indonesian Military is our partner,' Sutarman said before dozens of National Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel in Batam.
On Wednesday, the Brimob headquarters was attacked by dozens of armed Tuah Sakti soldiers. The soldiers opened fire on the police and vandalized the building. The incident, which lasted for almost seven hours, claimed the life of one soldier, identified as First Pvt. Jack Marpaung, and injured a local citizen.
The conflict dates back to a Sept. 21 clash between Brimob personnel and soldiers following an attempted police raid at a suspected illegal fuel-storage facility in Batam. Four members of the 134 Tuah Sakti infantry sustained gunshot wounds in the clash.
During his visit, Sutarman also instructed the evaluation of security measures within the Brimob complex.
'Teratai Barracks are too close to the main road. We should construct fences and create more turning points,' said Sutarman, who was accompanied by the National Police's general supervision inspectorate deputy, Insp. Gen. Dicky Atotoy.
Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno has confirmed that the incident stemmed from last month's attempted police raid at a suspected illegal-fuel storage facility in Batam, which was protected by soldiers.
Despite the minister's claim, Sutarman insisted that the conflict was the result of poor welfare, making both police and soldiers susceptible to violence.
'Welfare improvement is related to the state budget,' the four-star general said.
Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said the police and the Army had reached an agreement to jointly investigate the Batam clash, including the fatal shooting of the first private.
'The National Police chief and the Army chief have agreed that the inquiry will be based on applicable laws and regulations within the police and the military. There will be disciplinary sanctions for those who violated the code of conduct, and those who committed criminal offenses will be prosecuted,' Ronny said in Jakarta.
A preliminarily investigation found that the bullet that killed Jack was not fired from a Brimob standard-issue weapon.
Also on Friday, Defense Minister Raymizard Ryacudu, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo and Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Marsetio visited the 134 Tuah Sakti battalion headquarters, which are located near the Brimob complex.
They went on to visit to the newly operational Marine Corps' 10th Infantry Battalion headquarters on Setokok Island and Nipah Island, which is located close to the country's border with Singapore.
In an attempt to ease the tension, the police and soldiers organized joint sports activities on Friday in some cities.
Separately, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto said that President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo had no plans to visit the clash site in Batam.
'No, not yet. We're trying our best to de-escalate the tension. There's no need to elevate the level of the problem to the national level,' Andi said on Friday.
Andi said the President had instructed the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister to find the root cause of the problem before crafting a permanent solution.
