The Return of Ex-ISIS Indonesian Citizens has the Potential to Increase Radical Action in Indonesia
By: Dodik Prasetyo) *
The return of ex-ISIS citizens seems to present a lot of dilemmas, moreover there are still many intolerance problems that are awaiting a firm stand from the Government. Even though at this time Indonesia still has a homework to reduce radicalism that has never been resolved. It is fitting for the people and the Government of Indonesia to reject the return of the former ISIS citizen because of the potential to increase radical action in Indonesia.
Hundreds of former ISIS combatants from Indonesia can only curse their fate, living in a makeshift camp near Raqqa, Syria without certainty. More precisely ISIS only offers sweet promises via the internet to jihadists who are willing to join.
The world debt was repaid until the reimbursement of travel costs from Indonesia to Syria turned out to be mere nonsense.
Also note, there is an Indonesian family who is now housed in a makeshift camp near Raqqa who claimed, in 2015 he sold his house and property, after Rp. 500 million was collected, the family joined the jihadists who promised the ‘paradise’ .
The nightmare of the jihadists began after they set foot in Raqqa. Where they realize their mistake after entering the Islamic caliphate in the style of ISIS. There is no Heaven as promised, there is only hell.
If we talk about the protection of Indonesian citizens, it will certainly be relevant if we talk about protecting hundreds of millions of Indonesians in the country.
The question arises, who can guarantee that 600 ex-ISIS people do not carry radical viruses that can actually threaten other citizens? So it is not impossible, the return of ex-ISIS citizens will later have an impact on the growth of the seeds of radicalism in Indonesia.
General Chairman of Vox Point Indonesia, Yohanes Handoyo Budhisejati said, repatriation of ex-ISIS citizens was not needed, moreover there were problems in Indonesia that were more urgent, one of which was growing intolerance.
According to Handoyo, Indonesia is currently still facing a serious intolerance problem, and therefore the problem is complicated by adding new problems.
Related to the discourse of returning ISIS ex-ISIS, Former Extremist Sofyan Tsauri spoke up, where he stated that he was among those who rejected the repatriation plan.
The statement also has a strong reason, where Sofyan himself who is a former extremist also knew the suicide bombers while still in the rehabilitation center. He considered that the discourse of returning Indonesian ex-ISIS citizens was something dangerous.
The former extremist firmly said that the former ISIS citizen would bring problems when repatriated to Indonesia.
He also said that Indonesian citizens who were former members of ISIS were not trustworthy people. Especially after the death of its leader, Sofyan said there were several places targeted by jihadists.
Among these places is the Philippines which is the place of choice in the Southeast Asian region, then Afghanistan for the Middle East region.
The choice of the Philippines is most likely due to the large number of areas the government cannot monitor. This if left unchecked will certainly make terrorists and potential terrorists move freely without being detected.
The rejection of the former ISIS citizen was also voiced by the Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo, according to him, there were many things that needed to be considered.
He explained, Central Java does have a de-radicalization program. But for ex ISIS abroad, it is no longer their responsibility as the provincial government, because they have deliberately burned their passports.
The rejection also came from the Chairperson of the Da’wah Commission and Community Development Center for the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Muhammad Cholil Nafis.
He firmly said that Indonesia does not need to fight for ex-ISIS citizens to return to Indonesia. Because according to Cholil, they have forgotten the Homeland.
Through his media social account, Cholil conveyed ‘If legally ISIS residents or ex-ISIS citizens from Indonesia are automatically ex-citizens, then there is no need for the government and we will let alone fight for our entry into our country’.
The former ISIS citizen is clearly not an Indonesian citizen and is not loyal to Pancasila, the Constitution and the Republic of Indonesia. They also did not recognize the existence of the state so the government did not need to be present to save and resolve the problem of ex-Indonesian citizens who had joined ISIS.
) * The author is a social political observer
