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New antiterror agency chief promises to focus on Poso
Newly inaugurated National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian has promised to enhance the implementation of the agency's functions and to focus its works on counterterrorism operations in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
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Gearing up – Then Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian (center) speaks to journalists. Inaugurated as National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief on Wednesday, Tito said he would pay closer attention to Poso, a conflict zone and home to extremists in Central Sulawesi. (Tribunnews.com/Valdy Arief)
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ewly inaugurated National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Ins. Gen. Tito Karnavian has promised to enhance the implementation of the agency's functions and to focus its works on counterterrorism operations in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
He made the statement after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated the former Jakarta Police chief as the new BNPT chief at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Speaking after the inauguration, Tito said the core business of BNPT was to prevent terrorism and to provide rehabilitation for ex-terrorists after they had served their sentences. He further said the ongoing security operation code named Operation Trinomial in Poso regency in Central Sulawesi was his main focus.
"I will learn the existing concept of the BNPT and adjust it to my concept. In the short term, I will focus on Poso," he said.
Tito further said he would pay attention to the ongoing Operation Tinombala conducted by the National Police, with support from the Indonesian Military, which was aimed at hunting down Indonesia's most-wanted terrorist Santoso and his group.
"What we will do is to sharpen our position and disconnect the supply of logistics and information to terrorist suspects in urban areas. Such is the task of intelligence and the BNPT," he stated.
In the latest incident, two members of the East Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group led by Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, were killed on Tuesday when several MIT supporters and a joint Indonesian Military and National Police team engaged in a shootout near Mount Talabosa in Lore Piore district.
Tito said three elements were the focus of Indonesia’s terrorism eradication program, namely prevention, law enforcement and post-law enforcement rehabilitation. He said the main domain of his agency’s work was prevention and rehabilitation.
Tito further said both prevention and rehabilitation functions required the involvement of all parties. These functions, he said, could not be done by only one agency, but required the involvement of non-governmental organizations, including civil society groups.
"That's my concept. I explained it in my thesis, which focused on terrorism prevention and rehabilitation. The key is how to convince all stakeholders to sit together to make programs more conceptual and systematic," he explained.
For law enforcement, the BNPT chief said, the agency would strengthen coordination with the police, prosecutors and other law enforcers.
On rehabilitation, Tito said BNPT would focus on preventing of the planning and spreading of radicalism and terrorism ideas from behind bars. He said the National Police counterterrorism unit Densus 88 found that the Thamrin bomb attack on Jan.14 was planned from inside a prison on Nusakambangan prison island. He further said post-law enforcement rehabilitation was important to stop terror convicts from repeating their action or influencing others.
"The core group of a terrorist network is usually very radical. Sitting in the second layer is an implementing group, which is less radical. Forming the third layer is proponent supporters, who are less and less radical. The outermost layer is sympathizers. We have to differentiate treatment from one layer to another. I will not explain further because it would get into the intelligence domain," he explained.
As for the hardcore radical terrorists, he continued, there needs to be some sort of maximum security prison where they could not influence other prisoners.
"They should not be able to establish communications freely and develop a terror attack plan behind bars," he added.
Prior to his appointment as Jakarta Police chief in June 2015, Tito served with Densus 88. Tito was the top graduate of the Police Academy in 1987 and graduated magna cum laude with a Ph.D in strategic studies majoring in terrorism and Islamist radicalization from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
West Java Police chief Ins. Gen. Moechgiyarto will replace Tito as Jakarta Police chief. Moechgiyarto was Tito's superior in the Police Academy and a top 1986 Police Academy graduate. Both received the Adhi Makayasa award as top graduates. (ebf)
