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Ex-terrorists unite to promote peace, deradicalization
Tenggulun subdistrict in Selokuro, Lamongan, East Java, was once infamous because of the October 2002 arrests of three Bali bombers, brothers Ali Gufron, Amrozi and Ali Imron, known as the Trio Tenggulun. Now, 15 years later, the subdistrict attracted public attention again after more than 40 former terrorist inmates and combatants from various conflict areas, including Afghanistan and Mindanau in the Philippines, gathered there to vow loyalty to Indonesia and promised to help fight extremism.
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Against radicalism: Former terrorist Ali Fauzi (left) speaks about the importance of peace, accompanied by Vivi, a victim of the 2002 JW Marriott bomb attack in Jakarta in this 2016 file photo. The two have reconciled and have been participating together in seminars aimed at curbing radicalism among youth. (Courtesy of AIDA/file)
T
enggulun subdistrict in Selokuro, Lamongan, East Java, was once infamous because of the October 2002 arrests of three Bali bombers, brothers Ali Gufron, Amrozi and Ali Imron, known as the Trio Tenggulun.
Now, 15 years later, the subdistrict attracted public attention again after more than 40 former terrorist inmates and combatants from various conflict areas, including Afghanistan and Mindanau in the Philippines, gathered there to vow loyalty to Indonesia and promised to help fight extremism.
“I have promised to preach, voicing peace. I want to help the government, persuade others to repent and together develop Indonesia,” Agus Martin, alias Hasan, 36, said recently. Agus was imprisoned for committing acts of terror in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and Ambon, Maluku.
Read also: EDITORIAL: Reintegrating young 'radicals'
Agus said he chose not to return to his home village in Bekasi, West Java, to avoid meeting those from his old extremist network for fear of returning to radicalism.
“Whom we make friends with defines what we become,” said Agus, who spent six years in prison for illegal gun ownership and bomb-making.
Former gun and bomb maker Khoirul Ihwan, 36, of a Tangerang terrorist group who was released from Porong prison in East Java earlier this month after serving a four-year sentence, also pledged his loyalty. “I promise to pay for my wrongdoings by freeing others from radicalism.”
