REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Several improvements are necessary to eradicate terrorism in Indonesia, Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated in reference to one of the perpetrators of the Jakarta terror attack who was arrested for attending terrorist training in Aceh.
"Of course, several things need to be fixed. For instance, 50 percent of the convicts in our prisons are drug users. In fact, by arresting as many of them as possible, our problem of drug trafficking has not yet been solved," he pointed out here on Monday.
Kalla also expressed disagreement over the discourse on building a special prison for people accused of terrorism as it would only facilitate the spread of radicalism.
"It would be more dangerous. Our prisons could transform into a 'terrorist university' if we built a special prison," he stated.
The vice president sought to strengthen cooperation between the institutions involved in combating terrorist attacks such as the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), Indonesian National Police (Polri), and the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.
One of the suspected terrorists named Sunakim alias Afif, who was arrested for attending terrorist training in Aceh, once held an ID card bearing the address of Duren village, Klari district, Karawang regency, West Java.
Chief of the Klari police sub-precinct Commissioner of Police A. Mulyana stated that several police personnel from the Karawang police precinct along with the special anti-terror unit Detachment 88 had visited Duren village last Thursday after the bombings and shootout that occurred at the Starbucks cafe and near a police station in Thamrin Boulevard, Central Jakarta.
The chief of Duren village Abdul Halim admitted that Afif had resided in the village before moving out with his family in 2010.
Information on Afif leaving the village came to light after Halim received a letter from the Aceh police, which revealed that Afif had been arrested as he had joined a terrorist group in Aceh.
"At the time, I wanted to deliver the letter to his family, but when I reached their home, it was empty," Halim explained.
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