The violent riots that engulfed Central Jakarta for two nights last week have left the public with many concerns and authorities are under pressure to provide answers.
Yesterday, police revealed more details regarding the riots and its alleged use as a cover for an assassination plot, while the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) assured the public that the ultimate masterminds behind the violence will eventually be revealed.
Chief Security Minister Wiranto said on May 22, the day after the first night of riots, that the authorities already knew who the dalang (literally "puppeteer") pulling the strings behind the violence was.
Despite the many figures who have been arrested on charges of treason for allegedly helping to incite the riots, in the week since Wiranto's statement they have yet to reveal this supposed puppeteer.
But, according to BIN, that's only because they are following legal procedure while they gather the evidence needed to prosecute the individual or group behind the unrest.
"Gradually it will be revealed. The important thing is the proof, which we're getting. The only thing now is the law, so don't say there is no evidence," BIN spokesperson Wawan Purwanto told Kompas yesterday.
Wawan did mention that those behind the riots were acting on their own and not as part of a larger group or organization.
Yesterday, Wiranto told the public that he and three other Indonesian officials had been targeted as part of an assassination plot linked to the riots. Those other officials are BIN chief Budi Gunawan, President Joko Widodo's intelligence and security advisor Gories Mere and cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan.
Details of the alleged plan come less than a week after eight demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured during the capital's worst violence in years.
The heart of the city descended into chaos over two nights of street battles between riot police and protesters opposed to Joko Widodo's re-election.
A group of six people – arrested before they could carry out the killings – planned to murder the officials and an election pollster in a bid to plunge the country into chaos, authorities said Tuesday.
The ringleader was arrested near the riots with a gun last week, they added. "The plot to assassinate national figures was meant to create fear," Wiranto said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Last week's protests were sparked by official election results that showed President Joko Widodo had soundly defeated rival Prabowo Subianto, who launched a Constitutional Court challenge over claims that the April 17 poll was rigged against him.
– With additional reporting by AFP