Indonesia to repatriate 600 jihadis from Syria, political leaders are divided
Indonesia’s Minister for Religious Affairs Fachrul Razi announced that the Indonesian government is vetting a plan to repatriate about 600 Indonesian nationals who joined the Islamic State (IS) group to fight in Syria, Asia News reports.
“The government has not yet decided the repatriation plan,’” said Razi, a retired army general. The issue, he noted, “is still being reviewed thoroughly by a variety of institutions under the coordination of Coordinating Ministry for Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs.” At the same time, “there are many things to consider, both positive and negative impacts”, the article says.
According to Asia News, on Saturday, Razi had announced that Indonesia’s National Counter Terrorism Agency ( Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme – BNPT) planned to repatriate some 600 jihadis on humanitarian grounds, who have been trapped in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria along with their families.
It is unclear how many of them actually hold Indonesian citizenship. The London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR) reported in July 2018 that some 700 to 800 Indonesian were part of the Islamic State, including 113 women and about a hundred children. Of these, 183-300 had already returned.
According to Razi, it will take time to “neutralize” their radicalism. As a result, some moderate Islamic organization will be involved to provide help and assistance.
Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia has expressed however, concerns regarding the idea of repatriation. Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mohammad Mahfud MD told the press that there has been no decision taken and the issue was still being discussed among decisionmakers.
“Two options are on the table,” Mahfud explained, “repatriating [Indonesian] foreign terrorist fighters or leaving them in the Middle East. At present, the government is working on a final draft of what to do vis-à-vis these two strategies.
“I am deeply concerned because nowadays government orders are often not implemented by local administrations. If the latter do not accept the repatriation plan, it would be a serious political error for the central government” to do so, he said.
Photo is courtesy of Unsplash.
