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Jakarta Post

Indonesia needs stronger deradicalization program

Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, March 21, 2016

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Indonesia needs stronger deradicalization program On guard: Members of the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad escort security officials in possession of evidence from the residence of Tuah Febriwansyah, who is allegedly involved in the Islamic State (IS) movement, in Setu, South Tangerang, Banten, on March 22, 2015. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)

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he National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has urged Indonesian ministries and non-ministry government institutions must collaborate for stronger deradicalization efforts in the country.

BNPT deradicalization director Irfan Idris said although the agency’s efforts to deradicalize extremist cells remained effective until now, they were not optimal enough to ensure that former terrorists could return back to society after serving their sentences.

He further explained that one of the five perpetrators of bombing and gun attacks near Sarinah, a shopping mall on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, on Jan.14, was a former terrorist convict identified as Sunakim, aka Afif. It was a concrete example of the government’s failure in completing all stages of the existing deradicalization program, he went on.

“Reintegration is how to invite them back to the society and to make them not jobless,” Irfan said on Tuesday.

He further said that ideally, all ministries and non-ministry government institutions should collaborate and contribute to the ongoing counterterrorism efforts based on their duties and functions. They should not rely only on the BNPT to ensure the effective implementation of deradicalization efforts.

Citing examples, Irfan said, the Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry could provide education for former young radicals while the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry could provide entrepreneurship training programs and capitals for former convicts to make their own jobs or businesses.

At the same time, Irfan said, the government should utilize its social assistance programs distributed via various cards such as the Indonesian Health Card (KIS) and Indonesian Smart Card (KIP), providing them to former convicts to guarantee their livelihood.

“Not only providing ‘fish’, we should provide ‘fishing rods’ for them to continue their lives”, he further said.

Meanwhile, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict director Sidney Jones told thejakartapost.com that the deradicalization program  had not yet targeted the right objectives.

She further said as of now, the most urgent thing the government had to do was to develop a program for Indonesian people, mainly the children and women, who were deported from Turkey to Indonesia. They had been radicalized to join the Islamic State (IS) but failed to reach Syria.  

Jones said that about 300 to 700 Indonesians leaving the country to join the extremist group to fight for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.

The researcher said key points the government needed to highlight in the program were to identify and understand why these people wanted to join the IS and, while at the same time, to bring them out from the radical networks by providing them with alternative social pathways.

“It is also possble to provide them with jobs , which will allow them to the income they need to reintegrate into the society before they become part of supporting networks of the IS in Indonesia,” said Jones. (ebf)

 

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