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Santoso unlikely to surrender, says Haiti
Suspected terrorist Santoso and his followers are unlikely to retire from their guerilla warfare and surrender to security forces, said National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti on Monday.
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National Police chief Gen.Badrodin Haiti inspects security personnel joining Operation Tinombala in Poso, Central Sulawesi. (thejakartapost.com/Ruslan Sangadji)
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uspected terrorist Santoso and his followers are unlikely to retire from their guerrilla warfare and surrender to security forces, said National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti on Monday.
“Based on their concept and mindset, it would be impossible for them to turn themselves in," Badrodin said as quoted by kompas.com.
The force called on the Santoso-led terrorist group, the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT), to surrender in order to prevent further shootouts, Badrodin said, emphasizing that the police would prefer not to kill the MIT members.
However, Badrodin asserted that the joint police-military force would exchange fire in the mountainous Central Sulawesi forest if it were to end to the militant group’s activities.
Initially scheduled to end in early May, Operation Tinombala was extended by a further three months, from May 10 to Aug. 10, because the task force had failed to capture Santoso, also known as Abu Wardah, within the given time frame.
Member of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs Syarifuddin Sudding said that lawmakers would continue to provide support for Operation Tinombala, adding that the commission had increased the operating budget to Rp 25 billion (US$1.8 million).
The government has also reinforced police and military personnel in Poso, Central Sulawesi, increasing the total deployed personnel to 3,700.
Previously, Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said that Santoso was traveling among a group of five people, while the remaining MIT members, decreased to 23 members, had broken up into smaller groups and dispersed to continue their activities.
"The police and military troops have stepped up efforts to track down the groups," Luhut said on Friday. (afr/bbn)
