Jakarta,
Aug 13, 2016 (Antara) - Watch out for individual terrorists returning home
after fighting alongside terror groups overseas such as the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East.
That was the message from the International Meeting on
Counter-Terrorism (IMCT) which just concluded in Bali, on August 10,
2016.
Some
140 delegates from 23 countries attended the meeting themed "Countering
Cross-Border Movement of Terrorism," which was officially opened by
Vice President M Jusuf Kalla.
The
phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) has become a threat to
every nation, Chief of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT)
Commissioner General Suhardi Alius warned.
"The
perpetrators of terrorism, who not only come from local areas but also
from overseas, enter certain countries to carry out various actions.
This phenomenon is one of our key areas of focus for undertaking
terrorism preventive measures," Alius noted in a press statement,
Wednesday.
There is also a growing phenomenon of ISIS sympathizers moving to Iraq and Syria to join the militant group.
In the past, hundreds of Indonesians had gone to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda.
"What
had happened in Bali some years ago was the result of those people
moving to Afghanistan. The government does not want this to recur with
the return of Indonesians from Iraq and Syria," Alius remarked.
The recruitment by the ISIS can be considered as human trafficking.
They use the Internet to communicate with and recruit new members, Alius
believed.
The FTF is a cross-border terrorism phenomenon, whose emergence coincided with the creation of the ISIS.
In Indonesia, the Santoso-led Eastern Indonesian Mujahidin also had FTFs joining the group, Alius said.
Due to the FTFs, the death of Santoso, who was recently neutralized by
the Indonesia security force, does not mean the country is free from the
problem of terrorism.
The problem should be evaluated and considered as a lesson to anticipate the presence of FTFs in the future.
One
of the Indonesians currently still joining the ISIS in Syria is Bahrun
Naim, who allegedly masterminded a terror attack in downtown Jakarta in
January this year.
Terrorism will continue to become a
threat as radicalism has spread everywhere, particularly following the
emergence of the ISIS as a new terror force.
As part of the
international community, Indonesia has been implementing
counter-terrorism mechanisms that have been agreed upon internationally.
In addition to hard approaches, the government is also intensifying
de-radicalization programs to curb terrorism by using soft and tolerant
religious narratives and involving various relevant stakeholders, among
other things.
The police have also continued to improve professionalism and capacity building in counter-terrorism.
Besides, Indonesia has opened up for cooperation with other countries in counter-terrorism.
"We cannot do it alone when dealing with terrorism. We need
international cooperation," Alius said before delegates from Malaysia,
Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam, apart from Singapore,
and China, in a meeting between BNPT and ASEAN delegations.
Individual
terrorists, known as "lone wolves" are providing a new challenge in the
fight against terrorism in various countries, Indonesia¿s Coordinating
Minister for Law, Security and Political Affairs Wiranto said in his
opening remarks during the IMCT.
"The ISIS fighters returning to their respective countries create a new
phenomenon known as lone wolves. This phenomenon is a new challenge
that needs to be seriously addressed by us," he said in the meeting
attended by delegates from Australia, India, Russia, and the United
States, in addition to France, China, Russia and Turkey, among others,
apart from representatives from ASEAN, the United Nations (UN) and
Interpol.
Some
of the lone wolves were veterans who had fought in Syria and Iraq and
others were sympathizers recruited and indoctrinated by the ISIS to form
small clandestine groups in their respective countries, he said.
The
IMCT was convened back-to-back along with the 2nd Counter-Terrorism
Financing Summit, jointly organized by the Financial Service
Transactions and Reporting Center (PPATK) of Indonesia and its
Australian counterpart (AUSTRAC), at the same venue, from August 8 to
11.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants issued a joint
statement that among other things underlined the importance of effective
control of states over their borders to prevent cross- border movement
of terrorists and their goods, funds and material.
"Ministers
recognized that terrorism has been increasingly a transnational
phenomenon as it respects no national boundaries. In this regard,
ministers emphasized the need to improve law enforcement and border
management cooperation in combating cross-border movement of terrorism
in accordance with the UN Charter and international law," the statement
continued.
The
ministers recognized that as ISIS/L and Foreign Terrorist Fighters
(FTF) have emerged as a new global phenomenon of terrorism, the global
war on terror enters a new chapter. Therefore, ministers reaffirmed
their commitments to strengthen international cooperation in the fight
against terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
Furthermore, they underscored that terrorism cannot and should not be
associated with any religion, nationality, race, civilizations, or
ethnic group.
"However, as in most cases, terrorist groups use those associations as
justification, and ministers acknowledged the need to strengthen
dialogue and promote moderation, tolerance, and mutual understanding by
involving civil society, including communities and religious
organizations, without making distinction on the categorization of
terrorist," it added. ***2***
(F001/INE/O001)
Edited by INE
(T.F001/A/BESSR/) 13-08-2016 13:35:17
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