Yemris Fointuna – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who led the 774/Satya Yudha Bakti (SYB) infantry battalion from 1986 to 1988, appeared moved when he briefed some 1,000 soldiers packing the battalion's hall in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara.

He allowed himself time to relish the recollection of two of his former subordinates who he said were able to capture a Fretilin separatist group leader named Julio Sarmento during an ambush in Maubesi subdistrict, Ainaro district, East Timor, now Timor Leste.

Yudhoyono introduced to the troops to Alfonso Tielman, one of the soldiers who carried Sarmento up a steep ravine that day.

"I was informed that the enemy had not died, but sustained serious wounds. I ordered my men to save his life. I also arranged for a helicopter to airlift the captive to Dili to receive treatment, but the weather was bad and the fog was thick. That night we stayed alert until morning. We created a formation to anticipate retaliation from the enemy," Yudhoyono recalled.

He said he ordered his men to keep the detainee alive. "It was the first time soldiers on duty in Timor Leste caught a detainee alive. Sarmento was eventually flown to Jakarta and his life was saved. Why should we kill a powerless detainee," he added.

According to the President, soldiers must abide by the law and ethics during war. "If you respect the law, no Indonesian Military (TNI) soldier would be involved in human rights violations, because the military must also comply with the law," he said.

After the independence of Timor Leste in 1999, the battalion's base moved to Atambua.

The Atambua visit was part of the President's four-day trip to the province. Yudhoyono left Atambua for Kupang through the Atapupu Port on board the KRI Slamet Riyadi-352 naval vessel.

During the voyage, Yudhoyono was scheduled to observe Batek Island, once claimed by Timor Leste, which is situated precisely at the border between Kupang regency and the Timor Leste enclave of Oecusi.