Jakarta – The Siliwangi Military Command has stripped Lebak military commander Lt. Col. Czi Ubaidillah of his post for reportedly having held a Bela Negara (State Defense) training session for mass organization Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Banten recently.
"Based on our questioning of the Lebak military commander, [we found] a procedural error where he had failed to report either to the Banten military commander or Siliwangi military commander prior to holding the Bela Negara training session," Siliwangi Military Command spokesperson Col. M Desi Arianto was quoted as saying by Antara in a statement on Sunday.
Desi further said the Siliwangi military commander had a replacement in line for the now vacant Lebak military commander post. "There will be a new officer to replace him [Czi]," he added.
The training went viral following an Instagram post by @dpp_fpi that posted several photographs of the session.
"The Indonesian Military and FPI organized a Bela Negara introductory training session and an activity to plant 10,000 trees in Lebak Banten," the caption of the post explains.
Hendardi of the Setara Institute questioned the motive behind the training of the FPI members given the group's notoriety for vigilantism and being intolerant towards minority groups. (dmr)