Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The police antiterrorism squad Detachment 88 has come under fire for its methods, with critics calling the elite body arrogant and careless with regard to human rights.
During a recent raid in North Sumatra, Detachment 88 reportedly acted on its own without coordinating with North Sumatra Police and forced their way into the local military airbase to the chagrin of the Air Force.
The number of terrorist suspects killed in Detachment 88 raids has also drawn the attention of human rights watchdogs, who questioned the special body's judgment in killing suspects.
In the last year, the squad arrested 84 and killed another 21 suspects linked to a terrorist training camp in Aceh, The Associated Press reported in June. The National Police failed to identify some of those killed, leading to questions on whether they were all actually terrorists.
Criminologists said Detachment 88 should be given ample room to act when dealing with terrorist suspects given the seriousness of the threat they posed to society. However, there is now debate on how much room they should be given.
"We need to be sure the squad is on the right track in its battle against terrorists," Haris Azhar, deputy coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
However, he added, the problem often lay in the will to monitor the squad. He said his observations had shown that even high-ranking police officers preferred to turn a blind eye towards the squad's actions.
Insp. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, the head of the newly established Antiterrorism National Agency (BNPT), denied allegations that there was insufficient internal monitoring.
"We have our own way of evaluating each operation conducted by the squad, including asking for the team to take responsibility for each decision taken during operations," he said.
Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia said a final evaluation after an operation was mandatory. "But the public hasn't been granted access to the results of the evaluation," he said.
On Sunday night, Detachment 88 raided locations in Tanjung Balai and Deli Serdang, both in North Sumatra. They shot dead three suspected robbers and arrested 15 others. Police said the armed robbery suspects, who allegedly held up a branch of the CIMB Niaga Bank in Medan last month, had links to al-Qaeda, Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), JI's Indonesian affiliate, Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT).
JAT, led by Surakarta firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is suspected of providing support to a terrorist training camp in Aceh.
North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Oegroseno was reportedly irked by the squad's actions, which were undertaken without his knowledge in his jurisdiction.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said Tuesday that Detachment 88's action was coordinated by the National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, but not made known to Oegroseno. He said the plan was confidential to avoid intelligence leaks.
"I hope [Oegroseno] does not take this personally. I heard he was upset yesterday, but this was coordinated with the National Police chief," Iskandar said.
He also conveyed the unit's apologies to the Air Force following a letter of protest sent by the commander of North Sumatra's Polonia Airbase, Col. Taufik Hidayat, who said Detachment 88 trespassed on the airbase. "We apologize for the mistake and promise to improve future coordination with other institutions," he said.
Indonesia Police Watch criticized the squad, calling it "arrogant". "They think they're the top police squad in this country," IPW's Neta S. Pane was quoted as saying by news portal detik.com. Neta said Detachment 88's conduct could jeopardize relations between the Indonesian Military and the National Police.
The squad was recently in the spotlight for alleged human rights violations. International watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report in June, saying members of Detachment 88 worked with prison guards and police to torture political prisoners in Maluku. The National Police denied the allegation.