By: Lisa Pamungkas )*
The Security Forces continued their efforts to prevent terror towards the end of the year. In addition to preparing security posts and carrying out the 2021 Candlelight Operation, the Army/Police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) also continue to try to prevent the threat of public order and safety disturbances that may occur.
The end of the year and the Christmas holidays are moments where the security forces must remain vigilant. The Special Detachment (Densus) 88 Anti-terror team of the National Police succeeded in arresting 370 suspected terrorists throughout 2021. An increase from 2020 with 232 suspected terrorists arrested by the National Police Anti-terror Detachment 88.
Head of the Operational Assistance Section for the Anti-terror Detachment 88 of the National Police Kombes Aswin Siregar said the increase in arrests was due to his party wanting to completely eradicate the terrorist networks that still exist in Indonesia.
However, he does not want to assume that the increase in arrests is due to the proliferation of terrorists in Indonesia. According to him, the increase in the number of arrests is a testament to the performance and hard work of the Densus which is increasing and becoming more effective.
Previously, the Special Detachment (Densus) 88 Anti-terror has arrested 370 suspected perpetrators of terrorism crimes. This number is the catch throughout 2021, until December 24. From Densus data, the most arrests were made in March with 75 people, then 70 people in April and 61 people in August.
Furthermore, at least 1 person was arrested in October, 7 people in September and only 8 people in July. The process of identifying and developing cases of criminal acts of terrorism is carried out to anticipate possible terror plans carried out by certain networks. Detachment 88 will continuously carry out activities in order to create a safe situation in Indonesia.
It should be noted that in the last 1 month Densus 88 has secured dozens of suspected terrorists in a number of areas. It was recorded that 9 people were arrested in North Sumatra Province, one person in South Sumatra and four others in the Riau Archipelago.
Then, five other JI terrorist suspects were arrested in Lampung and South Sumatra. The four suspects are tasked with securing another terrorist fugitive who is being chased by the security forces.
In the past week, Densus has also arrested three suspected JAD terrorists (Jamaah Ansharut Daulah) in Central Kalimantan, two in South Kalimantan and three suspects from the Islamiyah Network (JI) in Central Java.
It should be noted that the ISIS network has targeted Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) for terror acts at the end of 2021. This was revealed after three suspected terrorists were arrested.
The arrests were made by two teams that are part of the National Police’s Anti-terror Detachment 88 with the assistance of the Central Kalimantan Police Satbrimob to apprehend the suspected terrorist in two locations.
One of the terrorists who were arrested in Palangkaraya is a man with the initials MS. Meanwhile, two suspected terrorists were detained in East Kotawaringin Regency, namely AR and RT. The Head of the Central Kalimantan Regional Police Humas Kombes Pol Kismanto Eko Saputro confirmed the arrest of the suspected terrorist.
Kismanto said that the three suspected terrorists were involved in a plan to carry out a terrorist act at the end of 2021 in the Bumi Tambun Bungai Region. He also explained that Densus 88 managed to confiscate a number of evidence from the search of three suspected terrorists. According to him, the suspects had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi and his successor.
The evidence found was homemade firearms, sharp weapons, clothes used for military training, and books related to ideological understanding as well as several other pieces of evidence related to criminal acts of terrorism.
One witness who is an employee of the Hawaii Hotel on Jalan Bubut, Palangkara City named Ardi, also confirmed the arrest of hotel visitors by Densus 88. According to him, the officers came wearing ordinary clothes but carrying long-barreled weapons. Not long after, the officers immediately took someone suspected of being a terrorist.
This arrest is of course an alarm for all of us, that the terrorist group has not completely disappeared from the archipelago. Maybe they look like ordinary citizens, but in their belief they believe that the acts of terror that are carried out are amaliyah actions that bring them closer to heaven.
The security forces of course have to work hard in anticipating the existing terror threats, of course we don’t want to be like the Middle East which was destroyed by mutual terror.
)* The author is a contributor to the Indonesian Institute of Strategic Information Studies (LSISI)
