Wake up call from Cimanggis

Wake up call from Cimanggis

On Sunday, March 21, reports about a U.S. warning of a
possible terror attack in Indonesia was launched by a number of
local papers in this country. On that very day, Jakarta was
rocked by a blast that occurred at a house in Cimanggis, Depok.

It is unclear that the warning from Washington had any
connection to the Cimanggis explosion. If it was, though, a
simple conclusion could be drawn that Washington has sharper eyes
and ears than the Jakarta Police.

Police failed to detect early signs sent out by a group of
people whose observable activities consisted mainly of arranging
prayers and making bombs.

Only after questioning the suspects did the police know that
training in assembling bombs had been going on for at least six
months.

So far, police have questioned 26 people, 10 of whom have been
declared suspects. Eight others are still at large.

The police have yet to establish the motives of the suspects,
who are said to be members of a secretive Islamic group. The
suspects merely told the officers that they were assembling the
bombs to defend themselves from possible attacks by musyrik, or
polytheist, people. The police apparently did not dig deeper into
the question as to who the suspects meant by this.

However, one piece of evidence the police did collect from the
explosion site was a letter written by one of the suspects and
addressed to his relatives, asking them not to visit polling
stations or shopping malls. None but the suspects can explain
precisely the significance of this request.

Until now, no legal clue has been discovered linking the
suspects' activities to the upcoming election.

But it is interesting to hear Governor Sutiyoso's statement
that the capital was the real target of the planned bombing.
Sutiyoso called the Cimanggis blast a warning that terrorists
were still around.

However, whatever the motive behind the planned bombing, we
must acknowledge the fact that neither the police nor Cimanggis
residents in the vicinity of the bomb-makers' house had failed to
detect anything suspicious until the blast on March 21.

The local police post also failed to sniff out the group's
activities.

As usual, denials from officers in charge did not go missing
in action. The most curious statement was made by National Police
chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, who claimed that police intelligence
had detected the activities at the Cimanggis house some time ago,
but the officers lacked an "entry point" to take action against
the group until the March 21 explosion presented an opportunity.

His statement clearly invites polemic. Had the police been
waiting for an "entry point" to arise before taking action, when
even the possession of explosives is against the law?

Would Da'i have made another nonsensical excuse had the group
succeeded in killing people with their bombs?

The lesson to be drawn from the Cimanggis blast is that the
police intelligence should improve their performance and do their
utmost to guard the capital against any act of terror.

The other point to be taken into serious consideration is that
the national security system -- a security and defense system
that involves residents and is popularly known as the Hankamrata
system -- now hangs in the balance.

It is hard to believe that families living so close to the
suspects' house had paid no attention to the eccentric behavior
of their neighbors. After all, the regular prayer sessions
involved people from outside the area, and at least some of the
women attending them were wearing black burqa robes and veils.

It is obvious that local residents failed to detect or to
respond to what was happening in their area, and even the
neighborhood chief said he knew nothing about the group's
activities.

The residents' failure to respond to every day activities at
the house was one factor that contributed to the police's failure
to take action against the group.

It is thus time that the Hankamrata system is reviewed. Is it
still applicable in light of current conditions, and is it able
to meet contemporary demands? Immediate action must be taken to
develop another system to prevent the capital from falling victim
to more terror attacks.