T

he arrest of more than a dozen terror suspects in a series of raids conducted by the National Police'€™s antiterror squad, Densus 88, in four provinces highlights the government'€™s failure to curb the spread of terrorist ideology.

In their latest raid in Lampung on Friday, the police arrested four men believed to be part of the terror group led by Abu Roban, who was killed in a shoot out with Densus 88 officers in Batang, Central Java, on Wednesday. The four men were allegedly involved in the robbery of jewelry stores and other criminal activities in the province.

'€œThe four suspects were believed to be the perpetrators of a BRI [Bank Rakyat Indonesia] heist in Pringsewu recently,'€ Lampung Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Corm. Sulistyaningsih said.

Their arrests have increased the number of suspects in police custody to 17. Previously, police announced that they had arrested 13 suspected terrorists and killed seven in raids in Kebumen, Batang and Kendal in Central Java, Bandung in West Java and Pondok Aren in Banten.

While they are still linked to the old terror leaders such as Abu Omar and Santoso, police alleged that the arrested suspects were planning to set up a new network. Autad Rawa, one of the suspects who remains at large, is a new name, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said.

Autad is believed to have taken military training in Poso with Santoso and is now leading the East Indonesia Mujahideen.

Terrorism expert Noor Huda Ismail of the Institute for International Peace Building questioned the extent to which deradicalization programs reached appropriate targets.

'€œThe deradicalization program might not have targeted communities that are considered high risk for influence by radicalism. The government does not pay much attention to preventive methods of deradicalization,'€ he said.

'€œThe government does not create a sufficient outreach program to help poor and marginalized people, those with the highest risk of getting involved with terrorism, to voice their political aspirations,'€ he added.

Noor Huda, one of the main proponents of deradicalization programs for terror convicts, said that people who were prone to being radicalized were those who were looked down on. '€œWhen they join terrorist groups, they might become leaders who have obedient followers. The group will elevate them to a higher social position. That is a huge reward for them,'€ he said.

'€œThese people can easily fall victim to these groups'€™ radical ideologies, because they don'€™t have sufficient understanding of religious teachings.'€

Abdul Mu'€™ti, the secretary of the Jakarta headquarters of moderate Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, said that the government'€™s deradicalization program failed to reach the grassroots. '€œThe program is more ceremonial in its nature. When they conduct workshops in hotels and offices, they will obviously fail to reach a wider audience,'€ Abdul said.

Noor Huda said that Indonesia'€™s prison systems had also failed to accomplish deradicalization. '€œTerrorists placed behind bars can still spread their radical ideologies to people outside the prison,'€ he said.

'€œIn the prison, the main perpetrators of terrorist attacks are placed in the same cell as the ones who merely act as supporters. This way, the main perpetrators can transfer their staunch radicalism to supporters that might not share the same extent of radicalism,'€ he argued.

Critics have also voiced concerns over the police'€™s repression in dealing with suspected terrorists, saying that it could trigger retaliation against the state apparatus.

Indonesia, the world'€™s largest Muslim-majority nation, has waged a campaign against radicalism and terrorism since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including foreign tourists. The authorities have detained more than 700 suspected terrorists and accomplices, and killed more than 65.

People Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy chairman Hajroyanto Y. Thohari said that the country'€™s antiterror strategy was still focusing on eradication rather than prevention. '€œThey just keep coming. You shoot one of them and a thousand more emerge,'€ he said.

Last year, the government launched what it called a comprehensive, multi-institutional deradicalization program to combat terrorism. The program, which was initiated by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), includes the making of the '€œNational Radical Terrorism Counter Programs'€ blueprint. It remains unclear how the program really works.

This year, the BNPT has only allocated Rp 36 billion (US$3.7 million) on a program to tackle the proliferation of radical groups at educational institutions. (ogi)