TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fortunately, the terrorist attack on the North Sumatra Police last Sunday only had bad intentions, not good planning. Armed only with knives, the attackers tried to set fire to a guard post and steal weapons from officers. In a short space of time, the police managed to disable the two perpetrators, Syawaluddin Pakpahan and Ardial Ramadhana, and arrest the members of their group.
The death of First Adj. Insp. Martua Sigalingging in the attack is highly regrettable. He had asked permission to lie down because he was not feeling well. If the standard operating procedures had been followed, and the sick officer had been immediately taken to the clinic, there might have been no deaths that night. The police paid a heavy price for this negligence in following procedure.
There are three important aspects worthy of analysis in the terrorist attack on the police HQ. Firstly, the police investigation concluded that the two attackers did not have any type of explosives with them. A search of the homes of the suspects and their associates only found books about jihad and ISIS propaganda materials. This means that efforts by law enforcers to cut off the terrorists' access to explosives and bomb-making equipment have had some success. As well as the attack in Medan, two other acts of terrorism--the attack on police officers in Tangerang (Banten, October 2016) and in Banyumas (Central Java, April 2017)--only used knives.
Secondly, the police suspect that the brutal attack at Idul Fitri was in response to the appeal from Bachrun Naim, the ISIS activist from Solo now living in Syria. Since leaving Indonesia three years ago, Bachrun has made much use of social media to recruit new terrorists. The bomb at the police post near Sarinah on Jakarta's Jalan Thamrin early last year, and Dian Yulia Novi's plan to detonate a pressure cooker bomb in front of the Merdeka Palace last December were also reportedly masterminded by Bachrun. This is proof of Bachrun's skill in exploiting the extensive penetration of social media in Indonesia to spread his influence.
The problem is that, as in other nations, recruitment of terrorists using this method is usually effective in radicalizing individuals, not groups. As a result, terrorists often act alone, in lone wolf attacks. The police find it more difficult to detect them. These solo attackers can spread terror anywhere at any time.
In the future, the Police Special Anti-Terror Detachment must intensify its use of digital technology to monitor conversations on the Internet. This is a complex dilemma because not everybody is ready to sacrifice their right to privacy. Any regulation on this should be introduced after a thorough public debate before being deliberated by the House of Representatives (DPR) as a revision to the current Anti-Terror Law.
Thirdly, there is the finding that Syawaluddin Pakpahan, one of the men behind the North Sumatra attack, has been to Syria in 2013. There are hundreds of Indonesians like Syawaluddin who are attracted by promises of heaven from ISIS. The government must make a register of those ISIS sympathizers and ensure that none of them bring their ideas of terrorism back to Indonesia.
Finally, the police have to realize that now they are the main target of the terrorists. Constant readiness and anticipation of bombings is no longer an option: it is a must.
Read the full story in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine
