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Military
not involved in Ambon attacks: Military
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The
Jakarta Post
January
22, 2003
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Military not involved in Ambon
attacks: Military
JAKARTA (JP): A senior military
official dismissed recent testimony from a gang leader in Ambon,
Maluku, who said that the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) had
helped the gang to disrupt security in the province.
"His statements are incorrect because he was tortured by the
police (during the questioning)," claimed the source,
referring to Berty Loupatty, the leader of the Coker gang.
Berty, he said, would possibly withdraw his statement.
The source did not give details to support the claim. He said that
the police had so far arrested five civilians, including Berty, on
charges of violating the peace in Ambon.
Last week, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said some
Kopassus soldiers had assisted the local Christian youth gang in
committing various offenses.
Da'i said that Berty, who is in police custody, had told them the
names of several officers who helped the group, which has been
accused of carrying out a number of bombings and shootings before
and after a peace deal was signed between the Christian and Muslim
communities in February last year.
Da'i refused to reveal any names but said that individual Kopassus
members rather than the institution were involved in helping the
gang commit several acts of violence in the province.
The role of Kopassus personnel was first revealed by Berty's
lawyer, Christian Rahayaan, who said that some gang members had
told police that Kopassus soldiers had given them instructions,
weapons and bombs to carry out the attacks last year.
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