By: Stephany Nasution )*
The government has carefully prepared the arrival of the World Catholic Church Leader, Pope Francis. This visit is in line with the official invitation letter from the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo dated March 25, 2024 to the Pope to visit Indonesia. This visit is highly anticipated, not only by Catholics, but also by all Indonesian people. Therefore, there is a need for synergy from all parties to jointly maintain a conducive situation during Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia.
The Pope’s visit will certainly further strengthen the message of world peace that is shared by the Indonesian nation and the Catholic Church. Throughout history, this is the third visit by the Pope to Indonesia. In 1970, Pope Paul VI and in 1989 Pope John Paul II visited Indonesia. The government together with the Holy See and all components of society will continue to prepare this visit as well as possible.
The government has made various preparations for the visit with related stakeholders. Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said that Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia is an honor for the Indonesian nation. He also hopes that all people can maintain conduciveness and peace during the visit.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) also played a role in maintaining conduciveness ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis. BPNT was present to carry out the Socialization and Pre-Audit of the Minimum Security Standards at the Jakarta Cathedral Church to ensure that the upcoming arrival of Pope Francis can run safely and smoothly. Head of the BNPT Environmental Security Sub-Directorate, Navy Colonel (H) Setyo Pranowo said that the activities carried out by BNPT were not only related to the arrival of the Pope, but because the Jakarta Cathedral Church is part of a public facility, which based on BNPT Regulation No. 3 of 2020 is entitled to protection from the threat of criminal acts of terrorism.
Then, the Core Volunteer of the Security Section of the National Committee for the Arrival of Pope Francis, Brigadier General of Police (Ret.) Robert Haryanto Watratan said that his party greatly appreciated the presence of BNPT in a joint effort to secure the arrival of Pope Francis to Indonesia. According to him, this visit is a symbol of tolerance, friendship, and dialogue between religious communities. This will be of concern to the whole world, therefore, all parties must collaborate to maintain conduciveness while the Pope is in Indonesia so that the visit can run safely and under control.
The Cathedral Event Committee, who is also a representative of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference (KWI), Romo Jatmik, also said something similar, that the presence of BNPT RI is a real part of the state’s presence to provide a sense of security and peace. According to him, what BNPT did was for the security of Pope Francis’ arrival at the Jakarta Cathedral Church. He also appreciated the Government’s performance in maintaining conduciveness ahead of the Pope’s visit.
Head of Operation Tribrata Jaya 2024, Commissioner General Imam Widodo said that the National Police had prepared security ahead of Pope Francis’ arrival in Indonesia, starting from discussing security during the event, early detection and prevention of vulnerabilities, tactical discussions on initial handling of explosives, preparations for countering terrorism, to conducting pre-operational exercises.
The pre-operation exercise itself was conducted to provide an understanding to police personnel regarding SOP and how to act in the field. All of these preparations were conducted to ensure the security, safety, and comfort of the Heads of State or Delegates who would attend by prioritizing preemptive and preventive activities.
Not only that, the National Police also assigned 4,520 personnel consisting of 1,077 personnel from the National Police Headquarters and 3,443 personnel from the Jakarta Metro Police to ensure that all of Pope Francis’ activities in Indonesia are safe and conducive. They emphasized that every series of events before, during, and after the visit, the National Police will continue to secure all of Pope Francis’ activities in Indonesia.
On the other hand, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Hadi Tjahjanto appealed to the press to prevent the spread of hoax information in order to maintain a conducive situation in the country ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis to Indonesia. He asked the media to convey good and soothing narratives, and to ward off false information (hoaxes) in order to keep the situation safe and conducive.
The Government has made various preparations to maintain security and conduciveness during Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia. The government has asked security forces to tighten security by conducting early detection and prevention of any potential vulnerabilities that may arise during the visit.
Pope Francis’ arrival in Indonesia is a reminder that tolerance must continue to be carried out in order to create a peaceful, safe, and secure situation. Therefore, maintaining peace and conduciveness is a shared responsibility that requires active participation from all elements of society in order to build a better future regardless of differences.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room