Suspected terrorist shot dead in South Sulawesi

A suspected terrorist linked to the Santoso gang was killed on Saturday morning by officers of the
National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism unit in Tanalili district in North Luwu, South
Sulawesi. South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Setiadji said the suspect, identified as
Ilham Syafii, resisted arrest, leading to a shoot-out with officers from Densus 88 and the
provincial police. Ilham died at the scene and his body was taken to Andi Mappaoddang Police
Hospital in Makassar.
Police confiscated a 9-millimeter Browning Hi Power semi-automatic handgun, five bullets,
a folding knife and a cellphone at the scene. Anton said Ilham was a resident of a restive area of
Poso, Central Sulawesi and alleged that he was part of a terrorist group in the region led by
Santoso. Ilham was part of the Poso network; he was a courier. He went from Poso to North
Luwu to hide, Anton told The Jakarta Post. Anton said Ilham had been targeted by Densus 88
for a long time. Knowing he was being sought, Ilham escaped into a local plantation in Beringin
some 400 kilometers from the provincial capital of Makassar before he was tracked down.
North Luwu regency is on the South and Central Sulawesi border and around two hours by
road from Poso. The Central Sulawesi Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police
are currently conducting a manhunt for around 20 members of the armed Santoso gang in the
jungles of Poso in the Napu Plateau area of East and North Lore. Police have deployed around 170
officers to search for the men, all of whom are on the polices most-wanted list.
Previously, members of the Santoso group allegedly conducted a suicide bombing at a police
station in Poso regency, a drive-by shooting, killings and abductions. The group is also said to be
actively recruiting members, focusing on those economically marginalized or who suffered when
the security apparatus cracked down on local residents during the Poso sectarian conflict from the
late 1990s to the mid-2000s. Earlier this week, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen Idham
Azis offered to talk with armed civilian groups, hoping to end the violence.
A foreigner has also been reported to be among Santosos followers, strengthening
suspicions of the groups connections to the Islamic State (IS) movement. Police suspect that
Santoso joined the IS movement and is receiving help from foreigners. In September, police
arrested seven suspected militants, including four thought to hail from Chinese Turkestan, in
Parigi Moutong, Central Sulawesi, on their way to Poso. They were believed to be planning to join
a terrorist group with possible links to IS.

Jokowi declines to comment on Budi Gunawan appointment

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appeared reluctant on Monday to explain why he nominated
Adj. Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan to lead the National Police, a move that has been criticized by
antigraft activists. Jokowi also demurred when asked why did not consult with the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) or the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
(PPATK) regarding Budi's nomination as he did when nominating Cabinet ministers. "It was
Kompolnas [National Police Commission] which gave me the recommendation. From that, we
made a choice. Now, let us wait for the process at the House [of Representatives]," Jokowi said.
Many have said that by nominating Budi, Jokowi bowed to political pressure, as there were four
three-star generals recommended by Kompolnas, the body with the authority to recommend police
chief candidates to the President. Budi is one of several police generals whose bank accounts the
PPATK flagged in 2009 for potential problems.
Budis wealth disclosure to the KPK in 2013 revealed assets of around Rp 22.6 billion
(US$1.8 million), despite a monthly take-home pay of less than Rp 18 million as a three-star
general. Although the House has yet to review Budi's record, lawmakers have given early signs of
approval, leading to increased opposition from antigraft activists. Budi has apparently secured
support from both the ruling Great Indonesia Coalition and the opposition Red-and-White
Coalition.

Signals from AirAsia black boxes detected

A team of divers from the navigation vessel Jadayat in the Karimata Strait has located objects
believed to be black boxes of AirAsia flight QZ8501, but has been unable to lift them as they are
wedged in the wreckage of the aircraft, an official has confirmed. Transportation Ministry marine
transportation directorate team coordinator A. Tonny Budiono said in a statement on Sunday that
the black boxes were at a depth of 30 to 32 meters.
The black boxes are trapped between pieces of the aircrafts body. It was difficult for the
team to retrieve them [today], Tonny said in a written press statement on Sunday. Tonny said the
team would continue to dive in the Karimata Strait on Monday morning to try to obtain the black
boxes. Due to the time constraints, we decided to stop todays search and will continue the
search on Monday morning, he said. Tony added that if the team failed again to retrieve the
black boxes, then the divers would attach a flotation device to the relevant section of the
aircrafts body, the same technique used to lift the tail on Saturday.
To ease Mondays search, the team of divers from the Navy will [if necessary] attach a
floating device provided by the Jadayat, Tony said. Separately, during a press conference on
Sunday, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) head Unggul Priyanto
claimed that the BPPTs vessel, the Baruna Jaya, had detected two signals believed to be from
the missing black boxes in the Karimata Strait.

The detected location of the black boxes was in the same area as where the planes tail section
was lifted from the sea on Saturday. We detected two signals located only 5 meters apart,

Unggul said at the BPPT headquarters in Jakarta on Sunday. In addition, another vessel, the KM
Java Imperia, which is tasked with helping the search, also detected signals on Sunday from the
same location as detected by the Baruna Jaya. National Search and Rescue Team (Basarnas)
operational director First Marshal SB Supriyadi said the agency had deployed 21 divers to help the
team from the Baruna Jaya to sweep the area where it said signals had been detected.
Around 21 divers were sent to the location as additional help. If more divers are needed,
then we will deploy more of our divers from the KN Purworejo vessel. The result of the scan
detector and the ping signal suggests the black boxes are located in the main body of the aircraft.
We hope the information is correct, Supriyadi said.
The National Polices Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team on Sunday identified three
bodies recovered from the Karimata Strait. The total number of identified bodies as of Sunday was
32. There were 162 on board the aircraft when it went missing en route to Singapore from
Surabaya last month. The team said it was still working to identify 16 other bodies housed at
Bhayangkara Hospital in Surabaya.
East Java Police head Budiono said the three bodies were identified as Kyung Hwa Lee and
Seong Beom Park, both South Korean nationals, and Vera Chandra Kho, an Indonesian national.

Batik with an Italian touch

The International Fashion Academy Koefia, which is located in Rome, has included batik in
its curriculum as part of a cooperation program with the Indonesian Embassy in Italy to enrich its
batik design to breach the international market. Since the cooperation began three years ago, the
fashion school students have been assigned to create designs using batik fabrics brought from
Indonesia, especially from Surakarta and Pekalongan in Central Java.
Some 200 designs have been created each given the renowned Italian fashion touch.
Following the selection process, 40 of them have been made into fashion pieces that have been
displayed at different fashion shows in Italy.
Yenny Lioniwati, a representative of the Indonesian Embassy in Italy, said the cooperation
would hopefully further promote batik to the world. She said the school had an impressive
learning method where the students were taught to apply haute couture techniques and
dressmaking skills, which in a way, resembled the meticulous batik-making process.

Planned IS gathering in Semarang canceled

A planned mass gathering of supporters of the Islamic State (IS) movement at a mosque in
Semarang, Central Java was canceled on Sunday. Some visitors riding motorcycles with plate
numbers from Kudus and Tegal were seen arriving at Madyo Mangun Karso Mosque on Jl. Wolter
Monginsidi, Pedurungan district to attend the gathering, which was scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
After learning that the meeting was canceled and they could not enter the mosque since its gate
was locked, they greeted each other and left the premises. The mosque had been quiet since
morning, with at least 10 police officers guarding it. There was no banner indicating a gathering

would be held in the mosque or that it was canceled.

Theres been no activity here since morning and no sign of a gathering at the mosque,
said Adj. First Insp. Juwadi, one of the police officers. Meanwhile, Doni, a resident living near the
mosque, said the mosque was also known as the Panut Mosque as it was built by the Panut family.
Signs with sentences in Javanese hung from the walls of the mosque.
We dont know about the gathering. We, the residents here, feel our mosque has been
interfered with by certain hard-line groups, Doni said. He said he always joined Friday prayers
the mosque, adding the preachers give normal sermons, nothing radical. News of the planned
gathering went viral on social media with a poster including pictures of Osama bin Laden and IS
leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The gathering was reportedly organized by Jammah Ansharut
Tauhid (JAT), an organization established by cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who is serving a 15-year
sentence for terrorism-related offenses in Nusakambangan prison, Central Java.
During a previous meeting in prison with JAT board members, Baasyir called on his
followers to support IS. Several JAT leaders, such as Fauzan Al Mubarok and Khoirul Anam, were
said to have attended the gathering. However, Muhammad Arifin, a committee member of the
planned gathering, said there would be no IS flag hoisting at the gathering and no pledging of IS
membership. Interviewed by Tribun Jateng, Arifin said the committee had only made a poster with
a picture of veiled women for the gathering. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo had earlier
asked the police to disperse the meeting as the government had banned IS and the use of the IS
symbol. Last week, Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Djihartono said the police had met some
mass organizations to gather information about the planned IS gathering.
We are continuously monitoring any possible activity related to IS. If we find the gathering
is related to IS, we will take stern action and disperse it, Djihartono. Terrorism expert Al
Chaidar said hard-line groups were active in Semarang and Yogyakarta with many young people
interested in joining the jihadist movement. The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has
reported that more than 500 Indonesians have joined IS, fighting in the civil war in Iraq and Syria.
Last month, Malaysia deported 12 Indonesians, mostly from East Java, who were allegedly on
their way to Syria to join IS. Last week, the US Embassy issued a warning to Americans about a
potential threat against US-associated banks and hotels in Surabaya, East Java. Earlier, in a
national meeting in Semarang, the security guards (Banser) of Nahdlatul Ulamas (NU) youth
wing (Ansor) revealed the presence of hard-line groups in some cities in East Java. The moderate
NU
is
the
countrys
largest
Muslim
organizations.
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