Indonesia, Level 2: Exercise increased caution, January 3, 2019

Do You Think Terrorism / Civil Unrest Is A Decreasing or Increasing Threat In Indonesia?

  • I think it is increasing.

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • I think it is decreasing.

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Don't think it is changing much either direction.

    Votes: 2 25.0%
  • Let me think about it while I have another Bintang.

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Total voters
    8

Pak Asam Manis

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I received this email a few days ago from USDOS "STEP" ... the natural disasters part is obvious, I'm more curious about the terrorism part, it cites "shootings in Papua" (not too surprising) and "violent demonstrations in Central Sulawesi".

I did not see any other thread in this section mentioning this, so must not be seen as anything too worrisome (I have spent very little time in Indonesia in the last two years). Just wondering what you all think about it ... I am not too concerned by it but I am concerned about the apparent trending rise in sectarian division and religious intolerance across the islands, generally. Below is the travel advisory in its entirety.

***************************************************

"Exercise increased caution in Indonesia due to terrorism and natural disasters. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.

Reconsider travel to:

  • Central Sulawesi and Papua due to civil unrest.
Terrorists continue plotting possible attacks in Indonesia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting police stations, places of worship, hotels, bars, nightclubs, shopping areas, and restaurants.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis or volcano eruptions may result in disruptions to transportation, infrastructure, sanitation, and the availability of health services.

Read the Safety and Security section on the country information page.

If you decide to travel to Indonesia:

Central Sulawesi and Papua

Shootings continue to occur in the area between Timika and Grasberg in Papua. In Central Sulawesi and Papua, violent demonstrations and conflict could result in injury or death to U.S. citizens. Avoid demonstrations and crowds.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Central Sulawesi and Papua as U.S. government employees must obtain special authorization before traveling to those areas."
 
Last edited:
** "Level 2" is still a relatively low warning level. Levels 3 and 4 are more serious. There is also currently a Level 2 advisory for China (PRC), for different reasons.
 
Meh... Eventhough it has been a bad year for natural disasters in Indonesia, there's really not much to be done to prevent them. I mean, if one is scared of earthquakes and volcanos then maybe don't come to Indonesia and stay away from volcanos? Also, buy travel insurance.

Civil unrest? Papua, sure, but the rest of Indonesia has been pretty calm lately.

Terrorists? Yes it's definitely a credible threat but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Things have been calm lately.
 
Deradicalised terrorists are easily being radicalised again, and some have been released from prisons already, according to Said Aqil Siroj (NU Chairman) in his article 'Khilafah Literasi' https://www.senayanpost.com/khilafah-literasi/

"Seorang peneliti bercerita kepada saya. Tuturnya, ada fakta beberapa eks narapidana teroris (napiter) yang sudah keluar penjara dengan rentang waktu yang berbeda dan sudah mendapatkan program deradikalisasi mendadak bagai macan yang terbangun dari tidurnya. Sontak dia menjadi ”galak” kembali akibat mencuatnya ”isu panas”. Semangat jihadnya membara. Pada sebuah grup Whatsapp, secara sarkastik para eks kombatan ini menyemburkan kata-kata hujatan keji, tanpa kendali. Bahkan, mereka menulis siap melakukan amaliyat demi membela keyakinannya yang dipandangnya telah dinista dan dizalimi. Mereka juga saling mengajak anggota grup medsos lainnya yang sama-sama eks napiter untuk berjihad kendati harus mati demi mencari syahid.

Pola paham radikal terbukti makin menemukan momentumnya ketika teknologi informasi, seperti internet, jadi alat komunikasi populer di tengah masyarakat. Melalui internet, kelompok radikal bisa menebarkan pahamnya. Demikian juga serbuan hoaks telah jadi pemandangan yang begitu menyeramkan hingga tidak sedikit yang jadi korban. Masyarakat pun terpolarisasi. ”Sel-sel tidur” radikal pun terbangun lalu menebar amarah.

Harus diakui, eks napiter tergolong kelompok yang masih rentan dengan persebaran informasi di dunia maya. Indoktrinasi dari mentornya saat mereka masuk jaringan radikal tak serta-merta hilang kendati mereka sudah menjalani hukuman di penjara. Mereka itu masih ”kuat” isi kepalanya dari doktrin radikal sehingga akan mudah ”membara” jika membaca tulisan-tulisan di internet yang menyeru pada radikalisme. Bacaan yang beraroma radikal, baik melalui internet maupun buku-buku radikal, bisa jadi ”pengingat kembali” pikiran radikalnya. Lagi-lagi, ini bukti betapa sangat minimnya mereka membaca sehingga yang muncul lebih pada ”emosi” tanpa didasari penalaran yang ilmiah, mendalam, dan kritis."
 
Meh... Eventhough it has been a bad year for natural disasters in Indonesia, there's really not much to be done to prevent them. I mean, if one is scared of earthquakes and volcanos then maybe don't come to Indonesia and stay away from volcanos? Also, buy travel insurance.

Civil unrest? Papua, sure, but the rest of Indonesia has been pretty calm lately.

Terrorists? Yes it's definitely a credible threat but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Things have been calm lately.

As I said, the "natural disasters" part was not a concern for me, meaning that I'm well aware of those things and as you imply, "it is what it is", so to speak. We lived in Medan for several years so got to experience the 8.6 'quake off the West coast of Sumatra (near Nias, I think) in 2012 and at least one big aftershock ... that was an eye=opener for me as I don't come from quake territory. And Sinabung was in our backyard, so to speak so ... yeah. Anyway, I do believe in kismet, destiny (Arabic qismah, nasib, masir) so neither of those things particularly worries me from that perspective, nor does terrorism.

When I said I was "concerned", I meant more in the sense that I'm "concerned" about the general social and political trends in the country, and "concerned" because I have many friends who are in the religious minorities, as well as those on the majority side ... so yes, the Papua stuff is not really surprising, I was more curious about the "violent demonstrations" in Sulawesi Tengah, as I haven't seen any news articles about this: is it religious / sectarian conflict simmering up again, has it been provoked or made worse by the tsunami that hit Palu ...? Any perspective on how serious this is, or not, or did they make the whole thing up entirely?
 

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