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Batam military chiefs sacked after attack on police, TNI insists otherwise
Defense Minister Gen
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efense Minister Gen. (ret.) Ryamizard Ryacudu announced on Friday that the military (TNI) had dismissed top commanders within the Bukit Barisan Command in Batam, Riau Islands, following an armed attack by soldiers on the Riau Islands Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters last week.
"The [Bukit Barisan] commander has been relieved of his duties, as has the [Batam] district commander," said Ryamizard at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java.
"This was ordered by the President," he said.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, however, denied that the TNI had relieved Bukit Barisan commander Maj. Gen. Winston Simanjuntak and Batam district commander Lt. Col. Josep Tarada Sidabutar.
"There has been no decision yet on the fate of the commanders. We have to wait for the outcome of the investigation," he said.
Dozens of members of the Army's 134 Tuah Sakti infantry ambushed and opened fire on the Brimob headquarters in Batam on Nov. 21, having vandalized the building hours before.
The incident, which lasted for almost seven hours, left one soldier dead, identified as First Pvt. Jack Marpaung, and injured a civilian, Kambani, who owns a nearby stall.
The conflict had its origins in a Sept. 21 clash between Brimob personnel and soldiers following an attempted police raid on a suspected illegal fuel-storage facility in Batam. Four members of the 134 Tuah Sakti infantry sustained gunshot wounds in the clash. (ren)(++++)
