Shela Octavia, Jessi Carina, Jakarta – TNI (Indonesian military) Commander General Agus Subiyanto is considered to have been too hasty in concluding that there was no involvement of TNI personnel in the fatal fire at the home of Tribrata TV reporter Rico Sempurna Pasaribu in Karo regency, North Sumatra.
This is because the Press Council's team from the Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ) and the Medan Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) have found strong evidence that shows the involvement of the TNI.
One of the pieces of evidence they have is the results of the investigation carried out by Pasaribu himself, namely a news report he wrote about the alleged involvement of the TNI in a gambling den in Karo, North Sumatra.
In addition to this, the Medan LBH and the Press Council KKJ also have evidence alleging that the suspected TNI member mentioned in the news report had contacted Pasaribu's editor with the aim of asking that the news report about the gambling den in Karo be taken down.
"There were three phone calls, when the phone was answered, (the rogue TNI member said) 'Please delete it'. That's more or less the conversation with the Pimred [chief editor]", said Pasaribu's lawyer Irvan Saputra when testifying at the Army's Military Police headquarters (Puspomad) in Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Friday July 12.
In addition to this, Pasaribu is said to have asked for protection from the Karo Police. The family has evidence of a conversation between Pasaribu and the Tanah Karo District Police Criminal Investigation Unit Chief (Kasatreskrim) regarding the request for protection.
Today, Pasaribu's daughter, EP (22), accompanied by her lawyer from the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) and the Press Council KKJ, made an official report regarding the alleged involvement of TNI members in the arson incident that killed Pasaribu and his family.
The report, designated LP number: 21/VII/2024/SPT was officially received by the Puspomad on Friday. EP is currently being questioned by the Puspomad to obtain additional information on the case.
On Thursday June 27, Pasaribu's home in Karo caught fire resulting in the death of Pasaribu, his wife, child and grandchild. Prior to the fire, Pasaribu is said to been in the process of writing a news report about a gambling den allegedly owned by a rogue TNI members.
General Subiyanto however has asserted that no TNI soldiers were involved in the fire at Pasaribu's home. "There was no (involvement of TNI soldiers in the fire", said Subiyanto at the parliamentary building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday July 10.
Currently, two people have been declared suspects in the fire. "I think Polri [the National Police] are on top of it, yeah, the journalist's house that was burnt down, its being handled by Polri", Subiyanto added.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Keluarga Korban Sebut Panglima Terlalu Dini Simpulkan Tak Ada Anggota TNI Terlibat Kebakaran di Karo".]
