Indonesia on edge ahead of polls results
Americans in Indonesia advised to avoid protest areas ahead of polls results
The US embassy in Jakarta has issued a security alert ahead of the election results due on Wednesday. This follows the recent arrest of nearly 30 suspected militants by Indonesian authorities. The embassy has advised US citizens to avoid crowded areas where large demonstrations may occur. Proceed with caution!
JAKARTA: The US embassy in Jakarta has issued a security alert ahead of election results due on Wednesday, as Indonesian authorities have arrested nearly 30 suspected militants, including some who police say are able to detonate bombs using WiFi networks.
The embassy advised US citizens to avoid areas where large demonstrations may occur in Jakarta and in other cities, including Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra, in a statement issued on Friday.
Indonesian authorities have said they are heightening security ahead of May 22, when the official result of last month’s presidential election will be announced.
Indonesian National Police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told reporters in a briefing on Friday that police this month have arrested 29 suspects linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) – the largest Islamic State-linked group in the country – and confiscated at least five homemade bombs in various locations across Java and North Sulawesi.
Some of the suspects have had paramilitary training and went to Syria as foreign fighters, he said.
Indonesian police also revealed that some of the suspects had learned how to use WiFi to detonate explosive devices, but it was not immediately clear how advanced their plans were.
Detonating bombs using a WiFi network is considered a new technique and gets around using phone signals, which can be jammed during rallies involving large crowds, said Dedi Prasetyo, another National Police spokesman, on Tuesday.
“If there is a (cell phone) jammer, phones are not operable but the Wi-Fi signal will not be disturbed, especially when using a signal amplifier,” Prasetyo said.
Police also arrested a suspect known only as E.Y., a local leader of JAD in Bekasi, near the capital Jakarta, on May 8 for plotting attacks during next week’s announcement of the presidential election.
JAD does not have an official spokesman, and it is not known if any of the suspects have retained legal representation.
“For this group, democracy is an ideology that they do not agree with,” Muhammad Iqbal said on Friday, adding that the National Police had advised the general public not to make unnecessary trips on the day the results will be announced.
“This would be dangerous as they want to attack anyone, including officers, with bombs,” he added.
The arrests were part of the authorities’ efforts to tighten security ahead of an announcement by the General Election Commission on May 22, when nearly 32,000 police and military personnel will be on standby in Jakarta.
The announcement is expected to confirm unofficial counts by private pollsters that showed incumbent President Joko Widodo as having won the race, a result which has been publicly disputed by his contender, former general Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo’s supporters have pledged to protest peacefully if the official result confirms Widodo’s victory, and large groups of people could be out in the streets after the announcement.
For this group (JAD), democracy is an ideology they do not agree with. Muhammad Iqbal