T

he National Police are set to receive an additional Rp 1.9 trillion (US$140 million) in the revised 2016 state budget, enabling them to complete the construction of a new headquarters for counterterrorism unit Densus 88.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the completion of the headquarters would boost the performance of Densus 88 in its counterterrorism efforts.

'€œWe do not yet have details [of what the funds will be spent on]. However, it will definitely be partly used on the headquarters as Densus 88'€™s working space is currently just wedged into other buildings,'€ he said on Friday at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Densus 88 was established in 2004 following a number of attacks carried out by radical groups starting with the 2002 Bali bombings that left 202 people dead and hundreds more injured.

The most recent attack on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, which was planned and executed by a group with links to the Islamic State (IS) movement, has put the country'€™s counterterrorism efforts back into the spotlight and prompted the government to attempt to strengthen the unit through law revisions and additional funds.

The anti-terror squad'€™s new headquarters, located inside the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta, is around 80 percent complete after 10 years of work, and is expected to be ready at the end of this year.

The Jakarta Police said they needed Rp 150 billion to finish construction of the headquarters.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian recently said that the police had only Rp 50 billion left for the project.

Earlier this week, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan announced that the government had earmarked Rp 1.9 trillion for Densus 88 for the construction of its headquarters and the procurement of weapons and equipment.

On Friday, Badrodin also said that the additional funds would go into purchasing more advanced equipment and facilities as well as paying for the recruitment and training of Densus 88 personnel.

'€œWe must improve their professionalism as well as their regeneration every year. There are a lot of skills [that must be improved], including surveillance and early detection skills. Furthermore, as technology improves all the time, the modus operandi of [terrorists] changes quickly,'€ he said.

Currently, Densus 88 is conducting a massive operation to hunt down members of the radical East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) group in Poso, Central Sulawesi, with help from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police force'€™s Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

The most recent operation, code-named Tinombala, started at the beginning of the year after the Camar Maleo I through IV operations failed to captured MIT chief Santoso Abu Wardah last year.

Brimob chief Insp. Gen. Murad Ismail said his personnel had been facing various challenges given their lack of exposure to mountainous terrain or the cold weather in the area.

Although medical tests are administered on personnel before deployment, Murad said that the first 14 days of the operation had drained their physical and mental energy, which had led to several deaths.

'€œThere are layers of mountains [in Poso]. It'€™s not like Aceh. My personnel stay for a maximum of 14 days in the hills because they only pack enough food for 14 days. Although we choose light foods such as biscuits, they also have to carry clothes and weapons. Imagine bringing something that heavy while having to hunt people,'€ he said.

Santoso and members of his group have used a strategy of trying to blend in with local communities and influence them in the process.

Most locals fear Santoso and his underlings, Murad said, and rarely reported his presence in their village because they were scared of being killed.

'€œMost locals feel threatened and think that if they get too close to the police they will be killed too,'€
he said.

'€” JP/Fedina S. Sundaryani