TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt declares IS fighters in Syria stateless
The government has disowned Indonesian nationals who joined the Islamic State (IS) movement abroad, declaring them stateless and stripped of their citizenship after officials decided against repatriation
Change Size
T
span>The government has disowned Indonesian nationals who joined the Islamic State (IS) movement abroad, declaring them stateless and stripped of their citizenship after officials decided against repatriation.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said the IS sympathizers’ citizenship had been automatically lost following their decision to join the terrorist movement in Syria.
“[The IS sympathizers] are stateless. It was clearly stipulated in the law on citizenship,” said Moeldoko at the Presidential Palace complex on Thursday, adding that the fact that several IS sympathizers burned their Indonesian passports signified their forfeited citizenship.
Article 23 of the 2006 Citizenship Law stipulates that Indonesian nationals can lose their citizenship after, among other things, joining a foreign military or taking an oath of allegiance to another country.
However, it remains unclear if such definitions can be applied to IS, which, despite its state-like form (and nomenclature), was not legally acknowledged as a state by the international community.
Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Anggara expressed his concern about the government’s choice to disown citizens who joined IS on the grounds of Article 23 of the Citizenship Law.
“As of now, there are no countries in the world willingly engaged in a diplomatic relationship with IS. Therefore, the option to strip Indonesian IS sympathizers of their citizenship is feared to give legitimacy to IS as political entity,” the ICJR activist said in a statement.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo referred to the IS sympathizers as “ex-Indonesian citizens”, implying that Indonesia did not consider them citizens any longer.
“The government does not have plans to repatriate the IS ex-Indonesian nationals,” Jokowi said.
Citing data from the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD previously said that 689 Indonesians had been identified as IS sympathizers in Syria and Turkey, as well as other countries.
Some 228 people are still in possession of identification as Indonesian citizens while the others do not have the proper documents to demonstrate citizenship. Indonesian authorities have previously suggested that most of the Indonesian IS supporters are women and children.
When asked about the IS sympathizers’ fates now that Indonesia had decided against their return, Jokowi said that joining IS “was their own decision” and that “they should have calculated” the risks of doing so.
“We will still provide opportunities for orphans and those who are children under 10 years old [to return],” Jokowi said, “But so far we don’t know if there are any.”
“[Data] from verification and identification will give clarity. We are still giving the chance for orphans aged below 10,” said Jokowi. “I think the government is firm on this.”
Mahfud said the orphaned children returning from former IS territories would undergo a counter-radicalism program prepared by the government. He declined to elaborate further.
Moeldoko separately said a joint team from the State Intelligence Agency, the National Police and the National Counterterrorism Agency, among other institutions, would be deployed to Syria to verify information on Indonesian IS sympathizers, adding that the process could take four to six months.
The government is nevertheless stuck between a rock and a hard place in deciding the fate of its IS-affiliated citizens, said Ridlwan Habib, an intelligence and terrorism expert from the University of Indonesia, saying the decision not to repatriate the sympathizers meant the government would have to stay vigilant in monitoring their movements.
“It’s very possible that they will independently return [to Indonesia] and escape surveillance,” said Ridlwan.
Thayep Malik, a terrorism researcher from the Institute for International Peace Building (Yayasan Prasasti Perdamaian), urged the government to join with relevant stakeholders in the deradicalization of the returnees.
“There should be cross-sectoral cooperation, whether it is between countries, ministries or institutions,” said Thayep.
