Wiranto: Public Intimidation by Spread of Hoax is Terrorism
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March 21, 2019 | 06:58 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security Affairs Wiranto has long likened the spread of disinformation or hoax as acts of terrorism since both impose fear among members of the public.
“A threat is when people are intimidated by a hoax that makes them afraid of going to voting ballots. That is terrorism,” said Wiranto at his office on Wednesday, March 20.
Read also: Jokowi Campaign Team Says They're Overwhelmed by Hoaxes
According to him, one of the many hoaxes nowadays circulating is that the general elections (Pemilu) will end up chaotic fueled by what he calls “people power.” This narrative, he says, can easily be categorized as an act of terror.
He then voiced his bewilderment on such narrative and compared it to the real world situation, which he said is guaranteed to run safe and securely by Indonesian authorities.
As for the 2019 general elections (Pemilu), Wiranto maintained that nearly 600 thousand personnel from the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) will be mobilized to safeguard the elections.
M ROSSENO AJI
