TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Soft approach essential to beating extremism: Minister
Change Size
Security affairs - Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu (left) talks with Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo on the sidelines of a forum at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Dec. 1. (the jakarta post/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
o:p>The use of physical weaponry will not win the war against extremists and terrorists, because that war can only be won by changing people's mindset through a soft approach known as bela negara, a minister has said.
"Bela negara focuses on fostering a love of the country among all citizens," Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said in Manila after meeting his Philippine counterpart, National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, on Thursday.
"Bela negara is not about arming the population, but developing their sense of patriotism."
Ryamizard said bela negara was becoming more important to counter the influence of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Indonesia.
"We are monitoring 23 IS fighters who returned from the Middle East to Indonesia three months ago.
"They include 20 Indonesians and three Arabs," he added, without elaborating on the nationalities of the three.
