Irawaty Wardani, Jakarta – An investigation into an explosion at an Islamic boarding school in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, escalated into open conflict Tuesday between police and civilians armed with machetes and arrows.
The residents blocked the only road connecting Bima to neighboring Dompu regency, blocked a police investigation and demanded that authorities return the remains of a school teacher, Suryanto, also known as Firdaus.
Suryanto was reportedly killed by a homemade bomb that exploded at 3:30 p.m. on Monday as he attempted to show students how to make explosives at the Umar bin Khattab boarding school. Police say Suryanto died en route to the hospital. Eleven students who were present at the hospital were later detained by police for questioning.
National Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said in Jakarta that the bomb was to have been used in a terror attack against police.
Previously, a student at the school, 16-year old Sa'ban Abdurrahman, was arrested for allegedly stabbing a policeman to death on June 30. Police said Sa'ban told investigators that the police deserved to die for hunting down jihadists.
Anton said the investigation into the explosion was made difficult by residents, students and teachers of the school who took to the streets and blocked roads.
"They don't want us there. We are still negotiating with them to allow us to enter the scene of the explosion. We can force the issue, but we don't want there to be more victims," he said.
Anton said the Bima Police and soldiers had deployed four platoons to end the roadblock and threatened to launch "repressive" actions should the blockade remain.
Antara news agency reported that the roadblock was lifted later in the afternoon and three civilians were taken to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. Police investigators, however, have not been able to enter the boarding school.
Terrorism commentator Dynno Creesbon said the objection by residents to the police investigation was a manifestation of the deeply rooted radical doctrine in the area. He said Bima was a stronghold for Islamic hard-liners from the southern Philippines and Java.
Dynno said Firdaus was a member of Jamaah Islamiyah and was trained in bomb-making in the southern Philippines. He said he suspected Firdaus joined the school to teach students how to use bombs to attack police.
He added that terrorist groups operating in Indonesia faced the threat of a massive police crackdown, so felt the need to reassert themselves through new attacks, albeit with limited resources. Dynno said he suspected the incident in Bima was one such attempt.
He added that it was natural for extremists to recruit followers at Islamic boarding schools, as it was easier to introduce extremist ideology to people with similar beliefs.
However, Dynno, this did not mean that all teachers or students at the school were involved. "There are many incidents where new members of hard-line group are recruited individually without the knowledge of other people". (rcf)