Ezra Sihite & Farouk Arnaz – Days after its own headquarters were allegedly attacked by military personnel, members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle vowed to renew efforts to overcome delays to change laws that bar members of the military to be tried in civilian court.
Ten soldiers have been accused of assaulting security officers at the headquarters of the opposition party known as PDI-P in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, on Saturday. The men avoided detention after their battalion commander claimed responsibility for their actions.
Comr. Erwin Hudawi Lubis of a Jakarta military unit said on Monday that all of the men are being interrogated by the military police unit, a procedure that usually takes place only in cases of ill-discipline, administrative violations and insubordination.
Under the Military Tribunal Law, soldiers and other security personnel remain under the jurisdiction of military courts where proceedings are often kept secret. PDI-P lawmaker Helmy Fauzi said the soldiers should by prosecuted for criminal offenses.
"This is no longer about military discipline. This is a crime," Helmy said, adding that enacting a proposed amendment that would lead to the cases being heard in a civilian court "can no longer be delayed."
The incident comes less than a month after Army Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos raided a jail in Yogyakarta's Sleman district and summarily executed four detainees who were suspected of killing a fellow Special Forces member.
The attack sparked a national debate about the progress of military reforms and worries over the state of lawlessness in the country.
That raid came just weeks after an attack on a police station in South Sumatra's Ogan Komering Ulu district by a group of around 90 soldiers. Six people were injured in that incident, which was sparked by the shooting death of a soldier by a police officer during a traffic stop in January.
Helmy said that military officials "cannot act as they wish and break the law. There must be a deterrent for offenders. Those who commit a crime must be prosecuted in regular court."
Three security guards at the PDI-P's headquarters were attacked by the soldiers on Saturday night after one of the guards tried to mediate an argument between a soldier and a student following a minor motorcycle accident. Soldiers allegedly injured guards during a search of the party headquarters for the student.
The personal security guards of PDI-P chairwoman and former national president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who was a the headquarters that night, detained two of the soldiers during the attack.
Two of the security guards were bruised, while a third suffered a head injury when he was struck with a bayonet.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said the two soldiers were released into the custody of their battalion commander, Lt. Col. Hari Darniko, after they admitted to being soldiers.
Military chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said on Monday that the event was an isolated one and did not reflect flaws in the military itself. "The incident at the PDI-P office was a individual case," Agus said. "It is not a problem with the Army."
Erwin, from the Jakarta military unit, said the two suspects admitted under questioning that they went to the PDI-P office that night. "The case has been filed and is waiting to be processed," Erwin said. "But whether it will be handed over to a military tribunal remains to be seen."