Counterterrorism efforts call for govt, civil society to team up

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 11/20/2009 11:24 AM  |  Headlines

Civil society groups in Southeast Asia should strengthen their local and regional networks and address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, a workshop recommended Thursday.

It said that civil society organizations (CSOs) also needed to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law as the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism.

To effectively prevent terrorism, it said, governments of Southeast Asia also needed to introduce political systems and policies that supported human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

“Governments should adopt policies that are just and non-discriminative in nature, such as policies on economic development that can eradicate poverty and support social cohesion,” the international workshop said in its press release.

“Law enforcement measures should be further strengthened against violent radicals and terrorism.”

The two-day workshop, which concluded on Thursday, was jointly organized by Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the US-based Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, with more than 30 participants from Southeast Asia.

Executive director for the Institute for International Peace Building, Noor Huda Ismail, said efforts to prevent terrorism were still fragile because the government walked alone in dealing with extremist groups.

“There is an ongoing perception among ‘jihadists’ the government is secular and this creates resistance. For these fundamentalists, accepting government aid means watering-down their faith,” he said.

He said that jihadists believed their acts of terror were justified as they believe that Jihad is about retaliating against the enemies of Islam.

He said that CSOs could establish contacts and build mutual trust with hard-liners through critical discussion.

 “We need a focus group discussion that can function as a forum for dialogue between the government and CSOs to exchange experiences in combating terrorism,” he said.

“But I see that involving CSOs is still rhetoric.”

Noor said governments and CSOs should avoid using Western terms such as deradicalization when approaching any radical groups.

Executive director of the Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Cecile Gaa, questioned the seriousness of governments involving human rights defenders in the fight against terrorism.

“Most human rights defenders are suspected of supporting terrorists, especially in the case of the Philippines,” she said.

He said authorities often used counterterrorism laws to fight for human rights defenders who criticized the government.

“For me, it is important to ask how counterterrorism strategies introduced by the UN will impact upon the human rights of people on the ground,” she said.

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