A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
INDONESIA: Anti-terror unit should be evaluated in wake of suicide bombing
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the suicide bombing and explosion in Kampung Melayu, Jakarta,
Indonesia, which killed five persons and injured 10. Three police officers and two alleged perpetrators died in the
blast.
In the last one year, the suicide bombing in Kampung Melayu is the second such incident. Earlier, there was a suicide
blast in Sarinah, Thamrin Jakarta on 14 January 2016, in which four people died and some 23 were injured. Terrorist
attacks in Indonesia are unfortunately not new; there have been bomb blasts in Bali (2002), in the Bursa Efek Jakarta
(2000), in Plaza Atrimum (2001), in JW Marriot (2003), in Kuningan (2004), and in Mega Kuningan (2009).
The question is, why are these blasts repeated despite Indonesia’s establishment of the Special Detachment Anti-Terror
Unit (Densus 88) since 2003-2004? Additionally, in the last ten years Indonesia has also received considerable
international aid to combat terrorism, including training and financial resources.
The AHRC notes the weak law enforcement against terrorist attacks in Indonesia, particularly at the prevention and
punishment stages. For prevention, the government mindset is still dominated by a security approach, wherein the new
bill on anti-terrorism to replace existing law No 15 of 2003 aims to provide more space and authority for military and
intelligence to be involved in arrest and detention of suspects.
President Joko Widodo has publicly stated that the enactment of the new bill will make combating terrorism easier, and
has therefore requested the drafting committee to immediately complete and enact the new bill. Unfortunately, the
President is not considering some controversial articles of the bill which are still being discussed and rejected by
civil society groups. These groups have submitted their input to revise controversial articles and to ensure that the
new bill does not hamper the promotion and protection of human rights in Indonesia.
Rather than issuing new decisions related to combating terrorism, the government should conduct a comprehensive
evaluation and audit upon the existing task forces mandated to eradicate terrorism. These are the National Terrorism
Agency (BNPT) and the Special Detachment Anti-Terror Unit 88, both of which are led by high ranking police officers. For
the last ten years, the Indonesian public is waiting for a transparent and accountable evaluation of these task forces.
Despite various incidents of abuse of power and human rights violations committed by Densus 88, the government and the
police have yet to seriously evaluate and punish the personnel involved. In the case of Siyono for instance, who was
tortured to death by Densus 88 officers, there is no willingness of the police to seriously evaluate the performance of
the anti-terror unit. On the contrary, the police tried to silence Siyono’s wife by giving the family IDR 100,000,000
(one hundred million rupiah), equivalent to USD 7,619.
In light of the recent suicide bomb blast and terrorist attack in Kampung Melayu, the AHRC therefore calls on the
Indonesian government to seriously evaluate its system and policy on combating terrorism. The government should enhance
coordination, communication and also professionalism of the police and its special task forces. Further, the government
should not only use a security approach, but also a human rights approach. Therefore, the new bill on terrorism should
not be a new instrument to deprive persons of their liberty and violate their rights, but should strengthen law
enforcement and protection of human rights and develop clear boundaries between strengthening security and protecting
human rights.
# # #
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works towards the radical rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice
institutions in order to protect and promote human rights in Asia. Established in 1984, the Hong Kong based organisation
is a Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award, 2014.