East Java candidates receive terror threats<\/p>\n
Iman Dwianto Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
A loud ring breaks the silence, and in a rush Budi S. quickly
\npicks up his phone. As he reads the incoming short message, he
\nquickly becomes worried.<\/p>\n
One of the members of the campaign team for a candidate
\nrunning in the upcoming elections of regional heads in Surabaya
\nhad just received what he claimed was veiled threat.<\/p>\n
\"How much are you getting paid to be an accomplice? Do NOT
\nmess with me!\" the message read.<\/p>\n
For some time, Budi was stiff with fear.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know why these kinds of threats are still around,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Another message came in. Budi appeared to be relieved to see
\nthat it was from his colleague, asking whether Budi received the
\nthreatening message.<\/p>\n
\"Did you get that message? I tried to call the sender back but
\nthe phone it came from had already been switched off,\" his
\ncolleague wrote, saying that he was so upset and would not mind a
\nfight if he knew the sender.<\/p>\n
Such terror is not only experienced by campaign managers, but
\nalso the candidates.<\/p>\n
AH Thony, a candidate running for a deputy mayor position in
\nthe election alongside Erlangga Satriagung, received a package
\nconsisting with dead chicken -- its throat cut -- along with a
\nthreatening letter.<\/p>\n
The letter said, \"you'll experience the same thing as this
\nchicken\", recalled Thony, a campaigner for the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle.<\/p>\n
The upcoming regional elections in Surabaya on June 27 have
\ndefinitely been raising the political temperature in the
\ncountry's second largest city.<\/p>\n
So far, four candidates, and their running mates -- Alisjahban
\n(the National Awakening Party); Bambang Dwi Haryono (Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle); Erlangga Satriagung (National
\nMandate Party); and Gatot Sudjito (Golkar Party) -- have been
\nannounced by the Surabaya Elections Committee as eligible to run.<\/p>\n
Thony took the threats in stride, knowing that they are the
\nconsequences of working on political campaigns here. Since he
\nstarted his political career 12 years ago, such terror tactics
\nhave become part of his daily routine.<\/p>\n
\"Such threats are part of a politician's life, as they are so
\ncommon here,\" he said, adding that he had prepared himself for
\nmany more and harsher threats when he decided to run in these
\ndirect elections.<\/p>\n
He believes that the election committee, with the assistance
\nof the police, would be able to deal with problems experienced by
\ncandidates.<\/p>\n
\"We have to put our trust in the police personnel. That's why
\nI don't take the terror too seriously,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that if he took the threats seriously, those
\nresponsible for sending the threats would think that their terror
\ntactics actually work.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Elections Supervising Committee in Surabaya,
\nMahmud Suhermono, said the committee had acknowledged the
\nemergence of threats towards candidates running for the elections
\nas well as campaign managers.<\/p>\n
He said the committee, with police assistance, provided
\nsecurity for each candidate. \"Every candidate is guarded by two
\npolice officers,\" Mahmud told the Post.<\/p>\n
The police, he said, were taking very stern measures indeed to
\nguarantee the candidates' safety.<\/p>\n
\"The police guards have been assigned to maintain their
\nsafety, if (the threat) is related to the election, serious
\naction will be taken,\" he claimed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-java-candidates-receive-terror-threats-1447893297",
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