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IS sympathizers unlikely to return soon as government ponders proper action: FM

Indonesia is still undecided on how to best deal with the hundreds of Islamic State group sympathizers looking to return home, with the top diplomat citing concerns that even the women in captivity might be prone to radicalization.

Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post)
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Nusa Dua, Bali
Fri, December 6, 2019

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IS sympathizers unlikely to return soon as government ponders proper action: FM Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi speaks to reporters on the margins of the 12th Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali on Thursday. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)

W

hile many countries assertively reject Islamic State (IS) group sympathizers seeking to return to their homelands, Indonesia has remained cautious about deciding on the fate of the foreign-aligned terrorist fighters and their families.

According to research by the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR), hundreds of Indonesian women and children left the country to follow family members who had joined the militant group. In 2018, there were about 800 IS sympathizers, including 113 women and 100 children who were still being detained in Kurdish-run prisons in Syria.

The recent death of IS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is feared to have sparked a new wave of retaliation from sympathetic groups around the world, prompting various responses from the international community.

In Europe, for instance, the Danish government announced on Oct. 11 that it would fast-track legislation allowing people with dual citizenship who had gone abroad to fight for militant groups to be stripped of their Danish nationality, Reuters reports.

Malaysia, on the other hand, is on high alert in case more IS fighters are homebound – its police chief has said 11 Malaysians had returned to date, with eight men charged in court and convicted for terror-related activities, the South China Morning Post reports.

Meanwhile, Indonesian officials are still on the fence about what to do with possible returnees.

“We have yet to reach that phase [of decision making] as we are still coordinating [efforts],” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi told journalists on the sidelines of the 12th Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali on Thursday.

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