San Fransisco Chronicle, Tuesday, December 9, 2003 20:17 PST
Soldiers attack police station in Indonesia, one killed
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian troops and police fired automatic weapons at
each other in a dispute over a traffic accident, and one soldier waas killed, officers
said Wednesday.
It was the latest in a string of clashes between undisciplined and underfunded forces
sparked in some cases by competition over the control of illegal business ventures.
One police officer was also injured in the incident late Tuesday in Pontianak, the
capital of West Kalimantan province, said local police chief Brig. Gen. Iwan
Panjiwinata.
Panjiwinata said the soldiers launched the attack because they were angry at police
officers who they said had failed to take action against the driver of a car that collided
with a military truck, injuring three soldiers.
Local military commanders were not immediately available for comment.
Witnesses said the soldiers opened fire on the police station for several minutes, but
stopped after a commander arrived on the scene. The station in the city, some 420
miles north of Jakarta, was badly damaged.
Last week, soldiers on neighboring Sulawesi island attacked a police station in a
clash that wounded two police officers and two soldiers. Last year, troops killed eight
police on Sumatra island after a dispute over drug dealing.
The two forces have never gotten on well, but tensions have increased since the
downfall of former dictator Suharto in 1998. Under Suharto, the police answered to the
military.
Since the end of the dictatorship, the police have been given independence and are
now the only agency responsible for investigating crime. The military's role is limited
to defense from foreign attacks.
T © 2003 Hearst Communications Inc.
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