Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – Deputy Minister of Manpower, Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan, said the terror directed towards Tempo poses a threat to democracy, as the media entity is considered the fourth pillar of democracy.
"Tempo magazine is not the one being terrorized, it's our democracy. Because journalism and Tempo have made a significant contribution to our democracy," said Immanuel in his statement on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Immanuel denounced and condemned the delivery of a severed pig's head and 6 rat carcasses to the Tempo office in Palmerah, West Jakarta, describing the terror attacks as outrageous.
The deputy minister said the press in this country has worked tremendously to forge democracy, and stressed that the recent acts of terror cannot be interpreted as directed solely at Tempo.
"Once again, this threat and terror are addressed to whoever is committed to democracy. Threats against journalism equal threats to democracy, and it's one we must fight together," he said, urging the National Police (Polri) to catch the masterminds behind these acts.
Immanuel stated that Polri is capable of thoroughly investigating the terror against Tempo. "There is a saying that there's no such thing as a perfect crime. With the existence of CCTV recordings and Polri's face recognition technology, they should be able to reveal the perpetrators," he said.
The deputy minister said failure to uncover the perpetrators behind the attacks will disappoint the public, and in turn, public trust will surge if the police are able to catch the offenders. "I really hope that the National Police can unveil the mystery surrounding the terror threat against Tempo," he said.
Previously, Polri Chief General Police Listyo Sigit Prabowo instructed the Chief of Detectives, Commissioner General Wahyu Widada, to investigate the terror.
"I have instructed the Chief of Detectives to carry out further investigation, and we will certainly provide the best service in following up on this matter," said Listyo during a visit for Ramadan Safari in Medan City on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
The terror attacks first began on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, when the Tempo media group office received a mysterious package. The package was wrapped in a cardboard box lined with styrofoam and was delivered by a courier on a white automatic motorcycle, complete with a black jacket and a motorcycle helmet from an online ride-hailing service.
The package containing the severed pig's head was addressed to Tempo journalist and host of the podcast Bocor Alus Politik, Francisca Rosana or Cica. Initially, the package was received by the building's security at 4:15 PM. However, Cica only took and opened the package on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Three days after the pig's head terror, Tempo's office received another package containing six decapitated rat carcasses. Tempo's cleaning staff found a box containing six rats on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 08:00 AM.
– Rehan Oktra Halim contributed to the writing of this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1990028/deputy-minister-says-tempo-carcass-terror-a-threat-to-democrac