TheJakartaPost
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Wiranto, Golfried Siregar and eco films
The attack on Wiranto was given wide press coverage, the death of Golfried Siregar much less so, although its implications have a much greater impact on humankind.
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Military personnel carry Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto to a helicopter to be medevaced after he was attacked in Pandeglang, Banten. (AFP/Sammy)
H
ey, I’m not a big fan of Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, and former army general, Wiranto, but like so many others, I was aghast when I heard that he had been stabbed by an assailant, later suspected to be affiliated with Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) linked to the Islamic State (IS) movement.
Why the attack, and why Wiranto?
His appointment as minister was more than a little controversial as he is said to have played a significant role “in facilitating human rights violations by the Indonesian Army and Jakarta-backed militias” in former East Timor and also in similar activities during the 1998 May riots.
There have been three motives suggested as to why Wiranto was targeted and none have to do with his past. One, that it was engineered by a rival as he is tipped to be a strong candidate for being reappointed security minister.
Two, that the attack was perpetrated by a radical group as he is seen as serving a regime they consider un-Islamic. Three, that the attack was fabricated to justify greater security measures and a harsher crackdown on Islamic extremism.
Whatever the reasons behind the stabbing, it is seen as an attack on the state. The title of one of the many articles in this paper related to the incident was “Indonesia on alert after minister attacked”.
Exactly a week before the Wiranto stabbing, another incident in Medan, North Sumatra, claimed the life of Golfried Siregar, 34, an environmental lawyer and grassroots activist. The police concluded that his death was the result of a motorcycle accident, a single-vehicle crash.
