Komnas HAM Urges TNI Commander to Remove Field Commander in Pidie Shooting Case

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has placed TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto at the forefront of accountability for the bloody incident in Gampong Pulo Kenari, Tiro District, Pidie Regency, Aceh, on 4 November 2026. The incident killed a young man, Abzalul Rizal (20), and injured several other residents while celebrations of the Prophet's Birthday were underway.

For Komnas HAM, the issue is not merely who pulled the trigger, but why armed troops were deployed against a crowd of residents in a peaceful setting. Komnas HAM member Amiruddin al-Rahab said the TNI leadership needs to examine and prosecute the field commander openly. He even urged the Commander to issue a strong reprimand to the unit commander in Aceh, and to remove him if necessary, because he was deemed to have wrongly placed TNI members in direct confrontation with the public.

The incident began with an attempt by officers to take down the Bulan Bintang flag raised by residents during the maulid celebration. Komnas HAM asked that the first step be securing all the muzzles of the weapons used, followed by ballistic testing. The test is crucial to determine the type of ammunition used, especially since the Iskandar Muda Military Commander, Brigadier General Mahesa Fitriadi, denied that live rounds were used in the operation.

Komnas HAM did not stop at demands for an investigation. Amiruddin stressed the need for a joint investigation team involving other ministries and elements of Acehnese society, with the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs as director. In a parallel track, Komnas HAM will conduct an independent investigation. However, he stressed that his institution's findings are not a substitute for the authorities' investigation, but rather comparative information for the state's legal process.

"The peace that Aceh has enjoyed for more than 20 years must not be tarnished by the actions of officers in incidents like the one in Tiro, Pidie," Amiruddin said.

The government has signaled a similar direction. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra stated that an investigation into this case had been agreed, covering identification of the perpetrators, the parties responsible, and law enforcement steps. The statement was made in Banda Aceh, a day after the incident. However, the promise of an investigation has yet to answer the main questions: whether there were procedural violations in the troop deployment, and why a repressive approach was chosen for a matter of regional symbols.

Komnas HAM highlighted a more structural issue. Referring to the Aceh Governance Law, the region is in a state of peace, so local political issues should be addressed with peaceful instruments, not the logic of conflict. Amiruddin said the police role should be prioritized in managing residents' activities in public spaces, including protecting the freedom to express opinions peacefully. He also asked that a forensic autopsy be carried out as soon as possible so that the cause of death does not become a controversy and the results can serve as evidence in court.

What remains is an old issue that has resurfaced: the Bulan Bintang flag as a regional symbol that has been regulated under Article 246 of Law No. 11/2006 on Aceh Governance. Komnas HAM urged the government to open a constructive dialogue on the grievances of Acehnese residents, with the Minister of Home Affairs as initiator. Without a path of dialogue, incidents like the one in Tiro could recur, and public trust in the authorities will continue to erode. The question now is: will the government take the path of law and dialogue, or once again close the matter with one-sided claims?