Uncoding the Indonesia Lone Wolf Anarchist

Introduction

In the early morning of February 16, 2022, John Sondang Saito alias Tarzan, hurled two Molotov cocktails at a police post in Jatiwarna, Bekasi, West Java. His act of anarchy was an attempt to spread fear among police officers. His actions had limited impacts as not only were there no casualties but also the post was minimally damaged. During his apprehension by public witnesses, indications of his motives were uncovered. He possessed pamphlets protesting environmental exploitation in Indonesia and the excessive use of force by Indonesian security forces. This article discusses how John, currently detained under the Anti-Terrorism Act, became radicalizedand the security impact of anarchist terrorism in Indonesia.

Music as an Initiator for Self-radicalization

John’s journey to anarchism began in 2006 when he was in the third year of junior high school. He listened to anarchist punk bands such as The Exploited and The Casualties, whose lyrics contained anarchist themes. With his interest piqued, he depended on the internet to translate their lyrics and to seek more information on the bands. As the the term “anarchy” was commonly available on the band’s former MySpace pages, he expanded to learning about global anarchist movements. Inspired by the bands’ social and political protests, he also searched for information on social and political issues on MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook. This was when he learned that the Indonesian security forces violated human rights through unlawful killings such as the 1983-1985 Petrus killings, 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre, the 1989 Talangsari incident, and the 1998 Tri Sakti shootings. Aiding his online searches was his employment at an internet café where he he had unlimited internet access.

After three years of extensive research, he yearned to defend Indonesians whom he felt were oppressed by the government. This yearning led him to to share anarchist posts with his friends on his Friendster and Facebook pages. In 2010, he left his Catholic religion, became agnostic and further committed himself to anarchism. This was demonstrated via his numerous anarchy-related tattoos on his arms, fingers, and chest.             

In 2018, he visited his village in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, and found that private companies had seized customary land belonging to his community. He was frustrated at the government’s failure to protect indigenous people’s land and favouring capitalists. His frustration saw him participate in numerous protests including the violent May Day protest of 2018 in Jakarta. As an active participant, he sought to harm police officers by pelting them with rocks. Additionally, with new social media platforms, he reached out to other Indonesian anarchists through Instagram. These new connections further immersed him with perceived injustice in Indonesia and kept him abreast with protest schedules.

Perceived Injustice a Trigger for Action

His decision to escalate his actions stemmed from learning about two perceived injustice, namely the arrest of farmers protesting against mining operations in Wadas Village, Purworejo, Central Java and the killing of a villager protesting a gold mining project in Kasimbar, Parigi Moutong, Central Sulawesi. These incidents in February 2022 made John wanting to avenge the arrests and killing. Set on attacking the police, he learnt to make Molotov cocktails online. Using his own savings, he made two Molotov cocktails and printed two hundred copies of protest pamphlets.

National and Regional Security Concerns

It is troubling that John is not the only anarchist in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. These individuals pose a security concern for several reasons:

1) While most Indonesian anarchists reject violence, anarchist cells across Indonesia are committed to building their capabilities to to attack their enemies, for example mining companies, banks, anti-anarchist politicians, and multinational companies. Based on the author’s data, there have been at least 31 anarchist-related attacks since 2011 excluding John Sondang’s attack.

2) Although these attacks have not harmed or killed anyone because the perpetrators only wanted to damage properties, anarchists may change the modus operandi and targets. Noteworthily, Indonesian anarchists remain connected to and inspired by global anarchist communities, such as the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI), the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and the Anarchist Union of Afghanistan and Iran. These connections facilitate imitation of attack tactics in Indonesia. Additionally, Indonesian anarchists would likely adhere to any calls by these overseas groups to employ more fatal tactics. Indonesian anarchists, particularly those affiliated with the ELF, also seek international attention from their fellow anarchists overseas. Such attention could be garnered by conducting “spectacular” attacks. Such attacks will probably conducted on international events, high rank government and state owned or private company officers.     

3) Indonesian anarchists have listed ten state-owned companies and its senior management as targets for their involvement in mining projects and the oppression of farmers. Unless the government provides protection to these companies and its staff, attacks on these companies are probable. Notably, two of these companies were attacked in May 2021.

4) Southeast Asian anarchists have established a strong brotherhood where happenings in one country could trigger an attack in another. For instance, in 2012, the Indonesian government imprisoned two anarchists responsible for burning down an ATM in Sleman, Yogyakarta. To avenge their imprisonment, Filipino anarchists vandalized the wall of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. 

5) As with religiously-motivated violent extremism, the internet is vital for radicalization, capability building and coordination. While there are many online counternarrative initiatives and efforts to disrupt such communications for religiously violent extremism in Indonesia, there have yet to be similar efforts for anarchism.

Way Forward

To prevent future anarchist attacks in Indonesia, it is imperative for the Indonesian government, academicians, and NGOs to consider the following: 1) The Indonesian government and academicians must map out anarchists operating in Indonesia to understand how the anarchists operate and how to deradicalize them. Greater attention should be focused on anarchists in Aceh, South & North Sumatra, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi because they are most active in these provinces.

2) The Indonesian government and NGOs must design deradicalization programs for anarchists while in detention. Noteworthily, it will be ideal to separate such inmates from those detained for religiously-linked terrorism as there have been precedence of general crimes inmates being radicalized. To reinforce deradicalization, there must be outlets to listen to the grievances of these inmates and facilitate peaceful solutions. As most Indonesian anarchists are young and unemployed, aiding these inmates secure employment post-release. This could help them mature and open up new avenues to solving issues without violence.

3)  The government should prioritize peaceful dialogue to solve conflicts mainly triggered by mining-related projects. Peaceful dialogues will prevent providing fodder for anarchists to seek violence.    4) The Indonesian anti-terror police should establish a task force focusing on anarcho-terrorism. This includes the monitoring of anarcho-terrorism movements overseas of the potentiality of Indonesian anarchists imitating overseas attacks.