IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) rebuffed issues that it deployed a tank to intercept people traveling to their hometowns during the Eid homecoming ban period. The TNI spokesman Brig. Gen. Tatang Subarna also denied a video circulating on social media which showed an armored vehicle on public roads.
“That is a training activity. The location happens to be close to the area where the road is blocked for homecoming flow,” Tatang clarified on Friday, April 7, 2021.
In a short video shared by a Twitter account @_4an9el, the location of the tank was said in Bekasi-Bogor border areas. The military tank was seen pulling over to the side of the road, and vehicles around the area were stopped by soldiers.
Tatang said vehicles only stopped when the video was recorded. He denied it was part of the efforts to restrict travelers from leaving the town as the government banned Eid homecoming, but rather for training purposes only.
“We routinely conduct maintenance, both the personnel and the equipment,” Tatang remarked.
The government’s ban on Eid al-Fitr homecoming takes effect from May 6 until May 17, 2021, in an effort to prevent Covid-19 transmission.
EGI ADYATAMA
