I

n response to concerns about the increasing influence of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, the National Police has urged the government to issue a regulation that would ban Indonesians from traveling abroad to join any militant groups.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Charliyan said on Thursday that the police force cannot prosecute Indonesians caught traveling to Syria to join the IS movement because there is no law that prohibits it.

'€œThe President must immediately issue a government regulation in lieu of law [Perppu]. The increasing numbers of people caught traveling to Syria is a big lesson for us,'€ he said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Recently, Turkish authorities revealed they had detained 16 Indonesians on Jan. 16 for allegedly trying to cross the Turkish border to join the IS in Syria.

The National Police also revealed that two of the Indonesians detained were the wife and child of M. Hidayat, a suspected terrorist who was shot to death in 2013 by the police force'€™s Densus 88 counterterrorism unit.

Meanwhile, eight of the Indonesians detained were the wife and children of Achsanul Huda, whom the police suspect has already died in war-torn Syria.

Another 16 Indonesians, who separated from their tour group in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this month, remain missing.

Anton said that neither the 2003 Terrorism Law nor the Criminal Code (KUHP) allowed law enforcement institutions to detain Indonesians traveling to conflict zones to join militant groups.

The police force could only prosecute those who had returned from Syria or those proven to have participated in past terrorist acts.

'€œThe government must fill in any loopholes found in the existing laws. It has to be described clearly whom law enforcement officials can prevent from traveling abroad; if their passports and visas are legitimate we cannot stop them from traveling,'€ he said.

'€We can only prosecute those who have clearly violated the law; we still cannot do anything if they intend to violate the law but haven'€™t yet.'€

According to the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), at least 514 Indonesians had gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with IS militants from June to October.

Anton said that the police were currently investigating who was funding their travels to Syria. According to Densus 88'€™s findings, Anton said, it was very unlikely that any funds for travel to Syria were deposited at a bank as that would be too easy to trace.

'€œDensus 88 said that everything was done by hand. All the funds were in cash,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Institute of International Peace Building founder Noor Huda Ismail said that in the meantime, the government could focus on encouraging former Indonesian IS fighters who have returned from Syria to speak to local communities about their experiences.

'€œThe government should take advantage of those who had joined IS and were disappointed in what they saw in the field '€” the disenchanted fighters,'€ he said.