Indonesia arrests ISIS followers

by Abu Hanifah

JAKARTA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia takes firm moves to crackdown and pursue citizens joining the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after it banned the international notorious radical group from developing in the country.

On Friday, the national police's anti-terror squad of Detachment 88 arrested two members of ISIS linked to an Indonesian radical Muslim group led by Santoso, which is still active in Central Sulawesi province's city of Poso.

The two arrested ISIS members were identified as Guntur and Kardi, of whom the first one was identified as financier of Santoso group's activities. They were arrested in East Java's city of Ngawi.

"They were subordinates of Santoso. They tried to retaliate during the arrest, but police can easily pin them down," Head of Detachment 88 Sen. Commissioner Ibnu Suhendra said here on Friday.

After conducting searches in both of ISIS member houses, he said that police confiscated Beretta pistol and 21 bullets with caliber of 9 mm and some spiritual books about Jihad in Guntur's.

Meanwhile, in Kardi's house, the anti-terror squad members confiscated solar cell kit and an ISIS flag. Ibnu said that the solar cell would be sent to Poso to support Santoso's activities.

He added that police would interrogate the two arrested ISIS members in national headquarters.

Indonesian Police Chief Gen. Sutarman said on Friday that he has issued instruction to police commanders in the regions to prevent the development of ISIS ideology in their jurisdictions.

He also said that police are legalized to dismiss groups affiliated to ISIS.

"That measure would be implemented, to be followed by legal enforcement," he pointed out.

Sutarman previously said that some 56 Indonesian militants have joined ISIS and involved armed conflicts in Syria. He added that three of them have deceased. According to the police chief, their departures were organized by Santoso's organization, conducted through second and third countries.

Indonesian government's anti-terror desk of BNPT has warned citizens interested to join ISIS that they will face legal sanctions for joining the organization, which was already stamped as a terrorist group by international community.

The agency also said that government could strip off their citizenship should they join the banned organization.

Amplifying the ban previously issued by government, Indonesian Muslim clerics council (MUI) also opposes persistence of ISIS organization in Indonesia, saying that it would break apart the unity of Indonesian Muslim and has a potential to wreck the state and nation's foundation values of Pancasila.

A terrorism analyst Al Chaidar said earlier that ISIS movement actually has significant supporters in Indonesia.

Indonesia has world's largest Muslim population that accounts for 80 percent of 250 million people, most of which apply moderate Muslim teaching of Sunni.