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A new law claims that the poor are 'more vulnerable to radicalism'. Experts beg to differ
Global studies also suggest that poverty does not have a direct correlation with terrorism.
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Stay alert: Personnel from the National Police's counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, stand guard during an operation in Jakarta in this undated file photo. (Kompas/-)
A
new government regulation on terrorism prevention has stirred controversy by including low-income people on a list of groups who are “vulnerable to radicalism”.
The regulation, signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Nov. 12, is the first derivative regulation of the Terrorism Law passed last year following a string of terror attacks, including the bombing of three churches in Surabaya, East Java.
The regulation, among other things, sets out the criteria for people who are vulnerable to radicalization, which includes those who have access to information that "contains radical views”, have relationships with people who are "indicated to have radical views” and are vulnerable due to "economic, psychological and cultural aspects”.
The regulation first gained attention over the weekend when it was uploaded to the State Secretariat’s website. On Monday, Golkar Party lawmaker Ahmad Doli questioned the urgency of issuing the regulation and raised the possibility that it violated human rights.
“We want to ensure that every regulation issued is conciliating, not something that creates controversy. How can low income be listed as an indicator of radicalism?” he said at the House of Representatives’ compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta. “We will ask [the government], is it so urgent to issue the regulation now? Shouldn’t there be a dialog with community groups first?”
Experts have also questioned the regulation’s criteria.
Terrorism expert Stanislaus Riyanta, for example, said socioeconomic status and level of education were not accurate indicators for an individual’s level of vulnerability to radicalism.
