Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Pasuruan – A small shop damaged by a passing Navy tank has sparked anger among hundreds of residents of four villages of Grati district in Pasuruan, East Java.The residents protested Thursday by blocking the major Pasuruan-Probolinggo route using bamboo trees. The blockade led to heavy traffic jams along 20 kilometers of the busy road for nearly two hours.

Pasuruan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said residents believed the tank driver hit the stall on purpose. "The damage comes against the background of a land dispute between the residents and the Navy," Boy said.

The roadblock ended after Pasuruan Regent Yusbakir Al Jufri, along with the local police chief and the speaker of the Pasuruan Legislative Council, met with the protesters. The Pasuruan regent promised to relay residents' grievances to the Navy.

Meanwhile, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Slamet Soebijanto said Friday the Navy had asked the residents to move out the area, which was now a military training zone.

"The area has become an armed forces training center, and we have allocated plots of land (for residents) at the edge of the training zone," Antara news agency quoted Slamet as saying after inaugurating four Navy warships in Surabaya.

Navy spokesman Vice Adm. A Malik Yusuf said the damage to the stall was accidental. "Tanks need room to maneuver. The stall was hit by the tank when it was making a maneuver," Malik said.

He added that the Navy had frequently told residents not to build permanent houses in the area, because of the dangers posed by the military equipment deployed during war exercises.

"War exercises are essential for the military. If we are defeated in a war who will be blamed? It will be the soldiers, right? So we want the residents to understand this," he added.