Indonesia's top security officials staged a meeting on Wednesday after intelligence on plans to target the country's Shia Muslim community proved credible enough to require immediate addressing.
The Muslim minority group has been subject to widespread hate campaigns and intimidation from hard-line Sunni groups, including those with some links to global terrorism network Islamic State, which has launched a series of violent attacks against Shiites in Iraq and Syria.
“We want Indonesia to be peaceful and not turn into Iraq or Syria,” Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan said before meeting with National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and Military chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo at Luhut's office in Central Jakarta.
Luhut did not disclose further details of the potential threat — first detected by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) — including its scale or likelihood.
“There are intelligence reports saying that Shiites [in Indonesia] are being targeted, so we have staged a meeting to anticipate the threat,” he said, as quoted by Tempo.co.
Police chief Badrodin urged the Shiite community to raise their vigilance in light of the threat.
Badrodin said police will also tightly monitor Sunni hard-liners which had been airing hate speeches and threats against the Shiite community.
Badrodin in September signed a circular stipulating that all police officers must be vigilant and respond immediately to any reports of alleged hate speech. The circular however has done little to encourage Islamic hard-liners in Indonesia to tone down their resentment.
Last month, a movement calling itself the National Anti-Shiite Alliance, or Annas, was inaugurated in Bogor, the Jakarta satellite city recently ranked as the most religiously intolerant city in Indonesia.
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