Terror attacks down 56pc: BNPT
Published on: Saturday, May 20, 2023
By: Antara News
The 2002 Bali bombings killed 204 people and remain Indonesia’s deadliest militant attack. (Getty Images)
BADUNG: The number of terror attacks in Indonesia in 2022 was down 56 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Global Terrorism Index published in March 2023, the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has informed.The statement was conveyed by the Deputy for International Cooperation at BNPT, Andhika Chrisnayudhanto, on the sidelines of the 19th Asean Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime Working Group on Counter Terrorism (SOMTC WG on CT) here.
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“The Global Terrorism Index assessment uses three main aspects, namely the number of deaths (due to attacks), the number of attacks, and the socioeconomic impact (of the attacks),” he said.
Furthermore, he cited the example of the suicide bombing at Astanaanyar Sector Police Office, Bandung City, West Java province, on December 7, 2022.
He noted that the incident did not claim many lives compared to other major terror attacks in Indonesia in the previous years—such as the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 204 and greatly affected the tourism sector in the province.
Meanwhile, one police officer and the perpetrator of the attack died in the Astanaanyar Sector Police Office bombing.
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“The number of deaths has not been as high as in the previous years, thus the number (of deaths) has indeed declined,” the BNPT official said.
However, although the number of attacks has declined, the agency and other stakeholders will not underestimate the potential danger of radicalism and terrorism in Indonesia, he noted.
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“Still, the government has an obligation to handle it (terrorism). Thus, although the number of attacks has decreased, we will not take it lightly,” he said.
He emphasised that BNPT, as the leading agency for countering terrorism in Indonesia, will continue to remain committed to fighting acts of terrorism and violent extremism.
He said that this is in accordance with the mandate of Law Number 5 of 2018 on Amendment to Law Number 15 of 2003 regarding the Stipulation of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law Number 1 of 2002 on the Eradication of Terrorism Acts.
According to the results of a joint survey conducted by the BNPT with a number of institutions, which were posted on the agency’s website, the Radicalism Potential Index in Indonesia in 2022 declined to 10 percent from 12.2 percent in 2020.
The survey showed that radicalism has greater potential to affect women, youths, and active Internet users.
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