President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) shared Indonesias experiences in dealing with terrorism and extremism during a session of the US-ASEAN Summit here on Tuesday.
He specifically cited the handling of the Jakarta attack last January as an example.
“A combination of hard and soft power is needed to deal with extremism,” the president stated.
He outlined three points: promoting tolerance in the fight against terrorism and extremism, addressing the root cause of the problem, as well as creating conducive conditions.
With regard to hard power, Indonesia is currently reviewing the Law on Terrorism in order to strengthen the legal umbrella to tackle terrorism.
“Of course, the legislation can be strengthened while respecting human rights,” the president affirmed.
As for soft power, the government has been adopting religious and cultural approaches and involving community and religious organizations.
The government has also used diversified approaches to promote deradicalism and to counter radicalism.
Besides this, the government has carried out rehabilitation and reintegration programs for terror inmates.
