Terrorists may target polls, Indonesian anti-terror chief warns

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s counter-terrorism chief is warning that terrorists may take advantage of the country’s upcoming direct presidential elections to push their agenda forward, though he clarifies no credible threat has been detected.

“I’m worried that this presidential election will be used by terrorists to conduct violent acts. We know that by ideology, democracy and elections are the biggest enemies of radicals and terrorists,” Ansyaad Mbai, the chief of Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), told Rappler on Friday, July 4.

He was quick to clarify, however, that they haven’t found evidence of an active plot, but added that “some issues in the campaign can be interconnected with the agenda of terrorists.”

Indonesians will vote for a new president on Wednesday, July 9, in the third biggest democratic election in the world next to the United States and India. The increasingly tight race has seen presidential candidate Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, hit by a smear campaign labeling him a closet ethnic Chinese Christian. (READ: Tight Indonesian presidential race hit by dirty campaigning) 

Pollsters say this helped narrow his lead over former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto in a country where almost 9 out of 10 citizens are Muslim. Prabowo has also stirred controversy for securing the support of strict, conservative Islamic parties. (READ: Religion, ethnicity and the Indonesian elections)

“They can use hot issues – particularly from the black campaign – that they consider to be similar to their agenda. This will be the biggest reason for them to act,” Ansyaad said.

The statement comes just days after terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced it was establishing a “caliphate” extending from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in Iraq – regions where ISIS has fought against the regimes in power. A caliphate is an Islamic form of government last seen under the Ottoman Empire. (Read: Southeast Asian recruits join jihadist ISIS)

Indonesian National Police Chief General Sutarman recently said at least 56 Indonesian citizens have joined ISIS, and Ansyaad told Rappler some of them have already returned from Iraq.

Terrorism experts warn that returning jihadists from Syria and Iraq would reinvigorate local radicals, the same way returning jihadists from Afghanistan led to terrorist attacks in the country.  Most of the bombers behind the deadly 2002 Bali bombing, for instance, were Afghan veterans.

Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, was the base of Jemaah Islamiyah or JI, once al-Qaeda’s arm in Southeast Asia. Indonesia felt the impact of Afghanistan in annual terrorist attacks from 2002-2005.

While Indonesia has made great strides in combatting terrorism over the past decade, Ansyaad says “a major attack is still possible.” – Rappler.com