JAKARTA (UCAN): Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency examined security arrangements at Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral in the capital Jakarta on August 1, which will be visited by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis will visit the cathedral on September 4, where he will interact with seminarians and catechists as part of his five-day visit, starting September 2.
Officials inspected the cathedral after police arrested a terror suspect in Malang, East Java, on July 31. The 19-year-old terrorist suspect with the initials, HOK, was arrested in Malang. Police spokesperson, Brigadier-General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said the suspect wanted to carry out attacks on two houses of worship.
“The goal is to ensure Pope Francis’ arrival at Jakarta Cathedral runs safely,” Colonel Setyo Pranowo, head of the agency’s security unit, said. He said the move was part of the agency’s aim to ensure public facilities like churches are free of terror threats.
Agency officials examined equipment and infrastructure within the cathedral and collected details from security personnel deployed in the cathedral area.
Father Nikasius Jatmiko, a member of the papal visit committee, said the anti-terror agency’s preparations will provide “a sense of security and peace. We greatly appreciate it.”
Pope Francis will visit the cathedral on September 4, where he will interact with seminarians and catechists as part of his five-day visit, starting September 2
Retired brigadier-general, Robert Haryanto Watratan, of the papal visit committee’s security division, said the pope’s arrival “brings a message of tolerance, friendship and dialogue between religious communities.”
Watratan said, “Therefore, we hope that it can run smoothly, safely and under control” in Indonesia.
Andiko said that HOK was planning to carry out bombings on places of worship with “highly-explosive materials,” but did not say if the targets were Christian facilities. However, media reports said they were Christian churches.
He added that HOK was a sympathiser of the jihadist group, Daulah Islamiyah, which is affiliated to the Islamic State.
Stanislaus Riyanta, a researcher at the Research Centre for Police Science and Terrorism Studies at the University of Indonesia, said suspected terrorists should be monitored during the pope’s visit.
“I believe the security and intelligence forces are capable of it,” he said and warned of the possibility of lone actors, which is a characteristic of terrorist groups linked to the Islamic State group.
“There are many terror groups affiliated to the Islamic State. They are adaptive and can make changes quickly,” he observed.
The threat of Islamic extremism remains high in Indonesia, despite the arrest of many suspected terrorists.
Churches in Indonesia have been targets of terror attacks.
On Palm Sunday in 2021, a group linked to Islamic State bombed Makassar Cathedral in South Sulawesi [Sunday Examiner, 4 April 2021], the first such incident against a place of worship since the 2018 bombing of three churches in Surabaya, East Java.
