Arnold Sianturi, Ezra Sihite & Robertus Wardi, Jakarta – A police officer in North Sumatra was stabbed to death by a soldier on Thursday, in the latest incident of violence between personnel from the two security forces this week.

Brig. Beni Sihombing, 32, was attacked near a stall selling liquor in the town of Binjai on Thursday evening, shortly after meeting the soldier, identified only as "A," with whom he had previously quarrelled.

Binjai Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Marcelino said on Friday that the two often fought, most recently last month.

"When they met again [on Thursday] the suspect drew his knife and stabbed the victim in the chest," Marcelino, said adding that there were witnesses at the stall who recognized the suspect.

"We immediately contacted the Military Police and pursued the suspect who killed Beni Sihombing. We are still investigating the motive," he said. Marcelino said Beni was a member of the police's Mobile Brigade, known as Brimob.

Beni and the suspect had both previously served tours of duty in Batam, in the Riau Islands, but it is unclear whether they were stationed there at the same time or if they knew each other then.

Batam is the scene of a series of altercations between members of the Army's local infantry battalion and the police's Brimob unit, which this week saw a soldier killed and a civilian injured during an exchange of gunfire in a residential area.

But Marcelino was quick to deny that Beni's death had anything to do with the altercation in Batam.

President Joko Widodo has instructed a full investigation into Wednesday's fire fight in Batam between police personnel and soldiers, and called on both sides to make peace and punish those involved.

The roots of Wednesday's skirmish trace back to a Sept. 21 police raid on a storage facility suspected of warehousing illegally diverted subsidized fuel in Batam's Batu Aji area. During the raid, police encountered two soldiers guarding the premises. An argument between the forces quickly escalated, and police opened fire, shooting the two soldiers in the legs.

A subsequent reprisal raid later that day by soldiers on a police station resulted in two more soldiers retreating with gunshot wounds.

According to police, tensions between the forces resurfaced on Monday when police celebrated the Brimob's anniversary.

After the celebration, two Brimob officers were involved in a fight with three soldiers from the 134th Infantry battalion, whom police said were seeking vengeance for their colleagues' September shooting.

On Wednesday, soldiers reportedly attacked and ransacked a Brimob dormitory, prompting an exchange of fire that led to the death of a private, J. Marpaung.

Army spokesman Col. Sumirat Kriswasana said on Thursday that the soldiers were armed during their assault on the Brimob barracks, but did not elaborate on who had authorized them to take firearms from the armory.

Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said on Thursday that attempts to reconcile since the September violence had been ineffective, and that hostilities had since escalated.

Such enmity was evident when an October press conference – initially called to present the findings of a joint police-military investigation into the Sept. 21 altercation – devolved into mutual finger-pointing by ranking members of the rival forces.

Police continue to blame the military for obstruction of justice, while the military accuses the police of using excessive force. It remains unclear whether any sanctions have been imposed on members of either force.

Observers at the time expressed concern that the conclusions of the joint investigation, which were characterized as vague and equivocal, would further fuel hostilities – a fear confirmed this week.

The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) on Friday called on the president to form an independent team to start a fresh investigation into both incidents.

"The team must not only come from the military and police," Imparsial executive director Poengky Indarti said, referring to the initial joint investigation.

"The team must also include the local government, Komnas HAM [National Commission on Human Rights], the National Police Commission, independent forensics experts and civil society groups."

Poengky said the military's assault on the Brimob barracks was "shameful" and "unjustifiable." "The perpetrators must be sanctioned as severely as possible so there will be a deterrent effect," she said.

Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto said President Joko would make some changes in the two forces' top brass, but said that the plan had been in place for long and that the recent skirmish only provided further impetus.

"Before the Batam incident the plan for these changes have been around," he said. "The Batam incident [...] of course generates more momentum for [Joko] to evaluate the appointment of certain strategic posts," Andi added.

The cabinet secretary said Tedjo had been vetting the reshuffle with several three- and four-star generals entering retirement age soon. "The outcome will be reported [to Joko] next week," he said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/military-police-tensions-result-stabbing-death/