Anti-terrorist squad criticized for killings

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s U.S.-funded police anti-terrorist squad killed seven suspected militants in recent days, triggering renewed allegations that the force is not trying to take suspects alive - a trend that appears to be fueling the very extremism the predominantly Muslim country is trying to counter.

Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Sunday that no shots were fired against officers during three related raids Friday and Saturday in eastern Indonesia, but that the suspects in at least one of the locations had explosives that were “ready” to be detonated. He said officers from the anti-terror squad, known as Densus 88, had followed procedures because the suspects were endangering their lives, but gave few details.

Haris Azhar, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, an independent human rights group, said it appeared that the suspected militants were victims of “extrajudicial killings” and called for an independent investigation. He said Densus 88’s tactics were driving militancy because they added to feelings among some Muslims that they were under siege.

“I’m worried about the deteriorating public sympathy for police who continue to use violence,” he said, alleging that some suspects in the past have been shot in front of their children.

Indonesia has struggled against militants seeking a Muslim state since its independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, some of the militants fell under the influence of al-Qaida while waging jihad in Afghanistan. On their return to Indonesia, they carried out four major bombings against foreign targets between 2002 and 2009.

Densus 88 was established after the first of those attacks, with American and Australian financial and technical assistance, which it still receives.

Since the squad’s establishment, Densus officers have killed more than 70 suspects. As in other countries, some Indonesian militants have blown themselves up when police officers have approached them and show a willingness to go down fighting, making apprehending them especially dangerous. Police figures show that militants killed 10 officers in 2012 in occurrences around the country.

“They are different to conventional criminals,” Amar said. “We can’t take any risks because they will show no hesitation to kill law enforcers.”