IPW: High-ranking Police Officers Receive Threats from ISIS
4 December 2015 15:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) said that six of the country's high-ranking police officers received terror threats from the Syria-based Islamist militant group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
"We received those threats recently. The United States' and the Australian' intelligence agencies have officially warned the officers to be aware of the threats," IPW presidium chairman Neta S. Pane said in a written statement on Friday, December 4, 2015.
Two of the six officers that received threats are high-ranking officers from the Polri Headquarters. Two other are regional chiefs of police, one is a retired army general and one is a commissioner.
These officers, Neta said, received those threats likely because they are seen as the people most responsible for the captures of radical groups in Indonesia.
"Polri seems to have anticipated the threats by tightening security in their facilities such as the headquarters—where officers can be seen carrying long-barreled guns. Several high-ranking officers now also ride in bullet-proof cars," he said as Bisnis Indonesia reported.
According to Neta, similar threats have also been addressed to officers of other countries that openly scrutinize ISIS.
"The attack on Paris has become an international focus. Surely we do not want the same thing to ever happen in Indonesia," he said.
IPW hopes that the police will enhance security measures nearing the change of the year. The Police, he said, must not hesitate to take firm actions against movements that can lead to acts of terrorism, "especially now that there are some 1,000 Indonesians that joined ISIS and returned."
"Polri needs to work extra hard to keep a close watch over their movements," he said.
BISNIS | RR