By: Nur Sabariah) *
The Covid-19 pandemic did not only threaten the health sector and the economy. The terrorist threat at the time of the pandemic was still very possible, so it should be anticipated together.
It was found that during the end of April, the 88 Special Anti-Terrorism Detachment Team (DENSUS) succeeded in capturing suspected terrorists in various areas, from Sidoarjo, Surabaya to Serang.
Terrorism observer from the University of Indonesia Ridwan Habib said, the threat of terrorism knows no time. The co-19 pandemic is no exception.
Ridwan said, there were 3 attitudes of terrorist groups during the co-19 pandemic. The first group understands that this virus does not recognize potential victims. Therefore, they tend not to launch the action.
The second group, considered the co-19 pandemic as a trial from God, According to Ridwan, they used the opportunity to recruit new cadres through online. In addition, this group also used the co-19 situation to educate cadres who had been recruited previously.
Meanwhile, the third group believes that the co-19 pandemic is a momentum to carry out terrorist attacks. This was chosen because this group assumed that the police were focusing on carrying out tasks related to covid-19.
They even began to think of ways to attack companies that had employees from China.
Misinformation about the origins of covid-19 became their trigger to attack Chinese-owned companies. In addition, Ridwan said there were terrorist groups who were thinking of using Covid-19 itself to attack.
Previously, densus 88 also arrested an AH with initials in Surabaya. AH is known to be a recidivist who has served a sentence at Madura Prison. Three days later, it was MH’s turn, one of the suspected terrorists arrested in Sidoarjo.
Head of the Public Information Division of the Police Public Relations Division, Kombes Asep Adisaputra said, MH is a private employee. When arrested, the police confiscated evidence in the form of a cellphone, a book of notes and three other books.
The culprit who was arrested was suspected of joining the Jemaah Ansharut Daulah network. Ridwan said that he was among the excitement of the group’s attitude that he had explained. JAD tends to have a third attitude.
In addition, terrorists have the opportunity to become co-19 stowaways, namely the spread of disinformation, aka hoaks or physical attacks on vital symbols or public facilities.
This situation requires alertness to JAD network action following ISIS’s call through its magazine regarding corona distribution.
Although ISIS has lost its territory in 2019, it has not stopped cyber propaganda actions targeting tissue cells in various regions of the world.
The specific ISIS call during a pandemic for its network is to launch attacks on health facilities that treat patients with corona anywhere.
It aims to prove the existence and delegitimization of security authorities and the government in handling co-19.
The potential for disinformation is also increasingly apparent when confronted by our society which has the seeds of vulnerability to disinformation. For example, such as seeds of distrust of the government, low literacy, economic inequality and increasing individualism.
Various JAD operations have reacted in different ways since the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic, some of them believed the most important thing was to avoid the spread of the virus, they even implemented contingency plans in a number of ways.
Some members who want to die as martyrs want to use this opportunity to carry out terror attacks.
In addition, in the JAD doctrine, Ramadan is currently underway, believed to be the most appropriate time to commit amaliyah or acts of terrorism.
Of course negative narratives about handling corona will continue to be heralded to gain public sympathy. This will later become an entry point for cadre recruitment efforts.
JAD also brought up the narrative that Covid-19 was a punishment from God inflicted on China and the world for allowing the Uyghurs to be suppressed in Xianjing.
As a result, terror groups in Indonesia are more likely to project every Chinese symbol, including Chinese-Indonesians as their potential targets.
In the midst of this pandemic, it is certainly very important for Indonesian security agents, especially for Detachment 88 whose duty is to eradicate terrorism to its roots.
Alertness to the spread of covid certainly not to miss us to be alert to the threat of acts of terrorism.
) * The author is a Student of IISIP Jakarta
