By: Muhammad Iskandar Z. *
During the administration of President Jokowi, it could be said that the calm period of the people of Central Sulawesi, especially Poso, had been haunted by terrorism from the East Indonesia Mujahidin group (MIT) led by Santoso alias Abu Wardah. Santoso is one of the most wanted names of terrorists by security forces in the world. For years he and his group were guerrillas in the Poso forest.
How did transmigrant children from Yogyakarta who were originally only local conflict actors, have risen caste to become one of the global terror actors? Is it because he has stated that he has joined Al Baghdadi’s Islamic State (IS)? Then how could he and his group be able to spread terror from the forest since 2011? At least there are two reasons that continue to support the perpetuity of this terror group in Poso.
First, there are around 30 to 40 people suspected of guerrilla on Mount Biru with Santoso. The majority of them are local people and migrants who have lived in Poso for a long time. Under these conditions, they are geographically more in control of the terrain compared to officials from the center. This clearly provides leeway for them to be able to mingle with the Poso community. They are also easy to raise funds and logistics. This pattern of motion clearly tests the foresight of the apparatus to distinguish between ordinary civilians and militant supporters of Santoso. Not infrequently, this situation makes the apparatus often mistakenly arrested.
Secondly, Poso as the theater of horizontal conflict in the 2000s, then gradually became a vertical conflict between Santoso and the state, and this was transformed by Santoso’s social media campaign as a theater of global conflict. Especially when Al Baghdadi declared the birth of IS, the Islamic State in Syria. Cleverly, Santoso and his group declared allegiance to Al Baghdadi on the YouTube page. As a former post-conflict area, Poso left a large amount of weapons that Santoso groups are currently using. The case of police shooting in front of Bank BCA Palu in 2011 by Santoso and his group using weapons remaining in the conflict.
These two reasons led President Jokowi to order the security forces to form Sargas Tinombala in hunting down the network of Santoso radical armed groups in Poso, Central Sulawesi. As a result, on July 18, 2016, Santoso was killed in a shootout with the Tinombala Task Force. Since Santoso’s death, the terrorist acts in Poso began to decline dramatically. While group leaders are currently held by Ali Kalora. He was also appointed as the group leader following the arrest of the MIT group leader Basri alias Bagong, in the same year Santoso died.
Since 2016, the MIT group has experienced a shrinking number of members, because most were arrested or killed in a shootout with joint TNI – Polri forces in Operation Tinombala. Ali Kalora did not have the strong influence Santoso, who was able to recruit dozens of people. Ali Kalora’s wife, Tini Susanti, was arrested by security forces while participating in a guerrilla in the forest. Automatically, the Ali Kalora group is currently surrounded in the forest because of the pursuit.
President Joko Widodo in leading was known to be merciless in eradicating acts of terrorism that threatened the safety of the Indonesian people. In his three years in office as President, the terrorist acts dropped dramatically. This is an achievement for the security forces supported by the participation of the community in combating terrorism. Various efforts have been made to ensure the safety and tranquility of the life of the Poso community.
Many foreign observers and leaders of world countries such as the United States, Australia and the UK appreciate the performance of the Indonesian Government in combating terrorism crimes. Some predictions from observers who say that Indonesia will become a field for the development of terrorism moving from the Middle East can be refuted by the real work of President Joko Widodo who pressured terrorist groups to their roots and cells.
*) Students of Syarif Hidayatullah UIN Jakarta
