Overview: A decade after the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesia continued its counterterrorism efforts and initiatives and cooperated with a range of partners, including the United States. Law enforcement authorities made a series of preemptive arrests in 2012, demonstrating enhanced investigative techniques and an increasing ability to disrupt terrorists' plans before they could carry out attacks. Despite the security challenges inherent in governing a nation composed of more than 17,000 islands, authorities were diligent in efforts to deny terrorists a safe haven. Police conducted raids at several locations, including in Poso, Central Sulawesi, where authorities began operations in October to disrupt an alleged terrorist training program associated with Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid.

In May, authorities arrested suspected terrorists based in Medan, North Sumatra, who had hacked into a multi-level marketing website and transferred funds to private accounts. This trend of terrorists seeking illicit funding through online crime is new to Indonesia. Limited weapons smuggling, often through the Philippines, posed an ongoing challenge. Authorities have expressed concern that, in some cases, explosive devices were of increasing sophistication.

Indonesia worked with international partners, including the United States, to deter and prevent terrorist attacks. Coordination among the various agencies responsible for preventing terrorism and prosecuting terrorists continued to pose challenges. Indonesia has sought to address this through better training for law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial officials, and by encouraging better information sharing between stakeholder agencies.

2012 Terrorist Incidents: Continuing a trend in recent years, terrorists targeted Indonesian law enforcement officials. Incidents included:

  • In August, terrorists attacked police in the Central Java city of Surakarta (also known as Solo). On August 17, two police officers were shot by a passenger on a motorcycle. On August 18, a grenade was thrown at a police post, resulting in damage to the building. On August 30, a police officer was shot and killed by terrorists.

  • On August 31, during a police raid, one law enforcement official was killed and one terrorist suspect was arrested. Two suspected terrorists were also killed during the shootout. Both had been students at Al Mukmim Islamic boarding school in Solo, had links to regional terrorist groups, and had participated in terrorist training in the Philippines.

  • In the fall, terrorists in Poso targeted civilians, police, and public officials in a series of violent attacks. Two police officers who had been investigating an alleged terrorist training camp in Poso were found murdered on October 16, bearing signs of torture.

  • On October 18-22, bombs were placed near police facilities, a church, a market, a home, and a vacant lot in Poso. Three people were injured, though not all of the bombs detonated.

  • On November 11, suspected Poso-trained militants tried to assassinate the Governor of South Sulawesi with pipe bombs during a public rally in Makassar. The bombs did not detonate, however.

  • On November 15, a suspected terrorist tried to assassinate the Chief of Police in Poso at his home, but the shooter missed and the officer was uninjured.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: In 2012, a multi-agency drafting team under the guidance of Indonesia's Ministry of Law and Human Rights was revising Indonesia's 2003 antiterrorism law. New provisions being considered would strengthen the legislation to better facilitate the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases by: addressing the material support of terrorism; better facilitating the use of intelligence information: extending the detention period that police may hold suspected terrorists before filing charges; and outlawing membership in, and training with, terrorist organizations.

Police arrested more than 150 people on charges of terrorism, and in the process of arrest, killed 10 suspects.

  • In March, five suspected terrorists were killed on the resort island of Bali as police tried to arrest them. Authorities believed the group may have been planning an attack similar to the 2002 and 2005 attacks against tourist sites on Bali.

  • In early May, police arrested 12 terrorists who were connected to the 2011 suicide bombing of a Christian church in Solo, Central Jakarta, and were involved in hacking a multi-level marketing website to fund terrorist activities, including a terrorist training camp in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

  • In early September, police made a series of arrests after bomb making facilities were discovered at two separate locations in the greater Jakarta area. Nitroglycerine was found at one of the sites, a first-time discovery of this substance linked to bomb making in Indonesia.

  • In late October, police arrested 11 suspected terrorists in a series of coordinated raids at four locations on the island of Java. A list of possible targets that included U.S. diplomatic facilities was among the items seized. Three suspected terrorists were killed in police operations in Central Sulawesi, and nine others were arrested in separate operations in Central and South Sulawesi.

  • Raids following the attacks on Poso police resulted in the arrests of dozens of suspects. At least three suspected ring leaders were killed and authorities seized weapons, extremist publications, and explosive materials during the raids.

The Attorney General's Office received 42 terrorism cases to prosecute. As of early December, at least three cases were completed, 18 were under review, and 22 were in the trial stage. In February, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to overturn his conviction on charges of terrorism and reinstated a 15-year sentence. This reversed an October 2011 decision wherein judges at the Jakarta High Court threw out the original 15-year sentence and issued a nine-year jail term based on lesser charges.

In mid-April, seven members of a radical group were found guilty of plotting to poison the water and food supplies at a police cafeteria in Jakarta and sentenced to jail terms ranging from three to five years. This case prompted authorities to express concern about terrorists obtaining chemical and biological agents for use in attacks.

On June 21, judges at the West Jakarta District Court announced a guilty verdict and 20-year jail sentence for Umar Patek. The trial lasted four months and featured testimony from victims and legal experts, including American witnesses. Patek was found guilty on all six counts for terrorist actions spanning more than a decade. He was the last remaining terrorist yet to be sentenced for the 2002 Bali bombings, for which he was the principal bomb maker.

Indonesia remained an important partner nation in the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program, which provided enhanced training in investigative and tactical skills for Indonesian National Police officers, including elite units that regularly conducted major operations against terrorists in the region.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Indonesia belongs to the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. In February 2012, FATF placed Indonesia on its Public Statement list because of Indonesia's failure to make sufficient progress in implementing its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism action plan. Indonesia faces possible FATF sanctions for failure to pass terrorist financing legislation. At year's end, revised terrorist financing legislation was pending before parliament.

Indonesia continued to lack a comprehensive law to implement UNSCRs 1267 and 1373, though the AML legislation provides for the freezing of terrorist assets linked to the UN List of designated terrorists and terrorist organizations. The Indonesian Financial Intelligence Unit routinely shared designated terrorists and terrorist entities with banks nationally through the Central Bank of Indonesia, but this had little effect since Indonesian authorities have not used existing regulations to freeze assets under UNSCR 1267. For example, Indonesia made little to no progress in freezing assets of JAT and three of its members after they were placed on the UNSCR 1267 list in March and April. Prosecutors and police need additional training to be able to convincingly follow and explain the money trail in a court of law. Judges also need training on money laundering and financial crimes. Corruption, particularly within the police ranks, also impeded effective investigations and prosecutions. Charitable and religious institutions remained largely unregulated, although the Indonesian government was looking at creating an administrative process to monitor non-profit organizations.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: A founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), Indonesia and Australia co-hosted the GCTF's inaugural South East Asia Capacity Building Working Group meeting in Semarang, Indonesia on March 6-7. Indonesian officials regularly participated in GCTF events throughout the year. On March 20, the Indonesian House of Representatives formally ratified the ASEAN Convention on Counterterrorism.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: The Government of Indonesia broadened its efforts to counter radicalization and violent extremism. The Vice President's office convened an interagency taskforce charged with creating a blueprint for counterterrorism that includes initiatives to counter violent extremism. In concert with other government agencies, the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) developed plans for a media campaign to counter extremist narratives. BNPT identified schools, universities, and religious institutions as targets for outreach efforts. BNPT enlisted repentant terrorists to publicly denounce violence at book launches and other public venues. For example, on June 20, BNPT organized a launching of the book The Cloud of Jihad authored by Khairul Ghazali, a repentant violent extremist currently serving a five-year jail term. BNPT invited members of extremist groups to the event with the aim to open dialogue among groups that hold divergent beliefs. The Ministry of Religious Affairs held a symposium in September called "The Strategic Role of Religious Education in the Development of a Culture of Peace."

BNPT also established a Terrorism Prevention Communication Forum in 15 of Indonesia's 34 provinces as a means to better coordinate counterterrorism efforts at the local level, and plans are underway to expand the program. Recognizing that campuses are sometimes recruiting grounds for violent extremists, BNPT co-sponsored a religious education curriculum workshop in Solo as an effort to undercut radical messages being spread on some university campuses. Plans were underway to open a rehabilitation and de-radicalization center for imprisoned terrorists in Sentul, one hour south of Jakarta. This facility, where terrorist prisoners would serve the latter part of their jail terms, would help prepare convicted terrorists for successful and non-violent reintegration back into society after their release. However, reforming the Indonesian corrections sector remained a daunting challenge, and the government had no comprehensive or standardized system in place to handle terrorist prisoners.

NGOs complemented government efforts with civil society members, academics, and victims of terrorism engaged in outreach and programs, primarily to students at educational institutions in communities identified as most vulnerable to violent extremism.

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