Coronavirus: Indonesia sees uptick of anti-Chinese speech by militants on social media
- Islamic State affiliates are using the coronavirus to stoke existing anti-Chinese sentiments within Indonesia, a Jakarta-based think tank cautioned
- It said there had been calls for attacks to be carried out because the country’s government is seen as being weakened by the pandemic
In its latest report released last week, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) pointed to a previously undisclosed plot to attack Chinese workers in Banten, West Java that was “discussed” last year by an Isis supporter who stabbed and seriously wounded former chief security minister Wiranto, the most senior government official to be attacked by the terror group.
“Intensified anti-Chinese rhetoric on some extremist social media sites does not appear to have been matched by any uptick in plots against Chinese targets but remains something to watch,” the report said.
“Much of the rhetoric has been purely racist hate speech. The question now is whether Isis supporters in Indonesia will use the coronavirus as an excuse to expand targeting beyond the police to domestic or international Chinese targets.”
Since January 2014, 19 Indonesian police officers have been killed by Isis-linked militants, with a further 71 others wounded. The police in turn have arrested more than 1,000 suspected terrorists over the same period.
