After a decade of waiting, Indonesia finally saw on Tuesday the birth of the interdepartmental National Antiterror Agency (BNPT), which wields greater authority than the National Police’s Special Detachment 88 counterterrorism unit.
Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, who was appointed chief of the agency, said the BNPT would have a wide range of authorities in the prevention and eradication of terrorism.
“To make it effective, we need close cooperation with other institutions such as the military, the Religious Ministry, academic and other related parties,” Mbai told journalists after his swearing-in ceremony.
Human rights activists have voiced concern that the new antiterrorism agency wields too much power and is reminiscent of the kind of state authority that the New Order regime used to quash government critics.
Critics pointed to the unclear definition of “terror activities” and greater participation of the military in the antiterrorism movement as stipulated in the presidential regulation on the agency’s establishment, which they said might be used to intimidate innocent citizens.
Under the new agency, the police will maintain their leading role in antiterrorism activities.
One of the agency’s priorities, Mbai said, should be to widen its surveillance because there were still scores of terror suspects on the loose.
