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MIT members do not have strong radical ideology: Minister
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On guard – Police officers secure the arrival of an ambulance carrying the bodies of Santoso, the leader of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group, and one of his followers, Mukhtar, at Bhayangkara Hospital in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday. (thejakartapost.com/Ruslan Sangadji)
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oordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has said that members of East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT), which was led by the late Santoso, have no strong radical ideology and the government would therefore take a soft approach to end the guerilla warfare.
“It is believed to be a wiser way to prevent militants from bearing grudges in the future,” said Luhut, responding to reasons for the government to offer pardons to those who surrender.
The form of pardon, such as amnesty or clemency, would depend on individual cases of the MIT members, he added.
Meanwhile, during the burial of Santo in Lantojaya village in Landangan, Poso Pesisir district, Islamic State (IS) flags were waved by several supporters of the MIT leader, who was shot dead by security personnel last week.
While the Operation Tinombala task force will continue to hunt for the remaining MIT members, security personnel are also conducting a territorial operation in Poso aimed at unifying local residents rocked by prolonged conflict in the area, Luhut added.
Luhut retracted a statement that the government might deploy more security personnel in the operation in Poso, Central Sulawesi, following the death of Santoso.
"There's no [additional personnel], it's just the usual," Luhut said, adding that there had been no indication of Santoso's group expanding. (afr/bbn)
