Indonesia: Suspects Arrested for Threats Against Pope Francis
Indonesian anti-terrorist forces
Terrorism has developed in Indonesia in the 21st century. It is mainly the work of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, an Indonesian armed organization, which was founded, at least officially, in 1993, an Islamist terrorist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, as described on Wikipedia.
The same site recalls the bloodiest dates of the actions carried out by this group: in 2000, 15 deaths by the explosion of a car bomb. “The same year, a series of bombs exploded on Christmas Eve in several places in the archipelago. These attacks targeted churches and killed 18 people. In 2002, the Bali attack killed 202 people.”
The arrests are the work of Detasemen Khusus 88 (Special Detachment 88) or Densus 88, which is an anti-terrorism unit of the Indonesian police established in 2003 and operational since 2005. This special unit, which depends on the Mobil Brigade or “Brimob,” the paramilitary body of the Indonesian police, is funded by the US government.
Tempo newspaper reports that Densus 88 has arrested 7 suspects for alleged terrorist threats against Pope Francis’ visit to Jakarta. These seven people are “suspected of provoking people on social media about Pope Francis’ visit to Jakarta.”
The information was confirmed by Densus 88 spokesperson, “Chief Commissioner Aswin Siregar, as confirmed by Tempo on Friday, September 6, 2024.”
According to the official statement of Densus 88, the seven individuals were from various regions, including Bangka Belitung, West Sumatra, Jakarta, and West Java.
All the elements have been verified by the newspaper Tempo which exposes them: it is a question of contacts with the Islamist terrorist circles. But the investigation is ongoing. It is difficult to know more today.
(Sources : Tempo/katholisch.de – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : Youtube / Bachtiar Adi
