Please do not provoke and create fear in communitiesMakassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Indonesian Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo has appealed to media outlets nationwide to keep away from any counterproductive news report on the Makassar church bombing.
"Please do not provoke and create fear in communities," Prabowo told local journalists after observing a Catholic church compound in Makassar city on Sunday evening.
All media outlets in Indonesia are expected to help maintain a conducive situation in the aftermath of the suicide bombing that took place at the church's gate on Sunday morning, he emphasized.
The public, at large, must also steer clear of any provocative act. If they find certain people attempting to instill a sense of fear in them, then they may report them to the police, he remarked.
Prabowo also urged all societal elements to continue their routine activities and to stay calm.
Catholic communities in Indonesia are suggested to go ahead with preparations for the Easter rituals while for Muslims entering the Ramadhan fasting month.
"The police are backed up by the Indonesian military commander in securing the country. We also appeal to non-governmental organizations to join in the security efforts," he stated.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a church located at Kajaolalido Road in Baru neighborhood area of Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi Province, on Sunday.
The couple attempted to enter the church compound, but they failed to get in after security guards stopped them at the gate when a Palm Sunday Mass service had just ended.
At least 20 people, including churchgoers and the church's security guards at the gate, got injured in the blast.
The suicide bombers, who reportedly belong to a JAD network, died shortly after conducting their attack by using a pressure cooker bomb at about 10:30 a.m. local time.
Since 2000, Indonesia has become the target of terrorist attacks, and the spread of radicalism and terrorism continues to threaten the nation.
ANTARA highlighted the repeated incidents of assaults by suspected terrorists and armed Papuan rebels on civilians and security personnel in 2020.
On May 22, 2020, for instance, notorious armed rebels reportedly shot at two medical workers -- Almalek Bagau and Eunico Somou -- from the Wandai Health Center in Intan Jaya District, Papua Province, while they were delivering drugs for COVID-19 patients.
In another incident on June 1, 2020, a lone wolf assaulted Brigadier Leonardo Latupapua, a policeman of the Daha Selatan police precinct in South Kalimantan Province. Latupapua succumbed to grave injuries following the early morning attack.
On June 21, 2020, a man unexpectedly attacked Second Brigadier Hanif Ariyono, a driver of Deputy Chief of Karanganyar Police Commissioner Busroni's official vehicle, with a machete in Karanganyar District, Central Java Province.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: MD Fatir, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
