HSPI Hosts Ambassadors Roundtable Series Event Featuring
Indonesian Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat
Previous ART Series Events
As part of the Ambassadors Roundtable Series on International Collaboration to Combat Terrorism and Insurgencies, the Homeland Security Policy Institute hosted Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat of Indonesia on October 16, 2007. Below are his remarks in their entirity.
Terrorism and Counter Terrorism; The Threat and Indonesia’s Responses
Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat
Background
1. Terrorism continues to pose serious threat to the security, economic prosperity and social development in Indonesia. Many terrorist accomplices have been killed and hundreds of them were apprehended and prosecuted. However a good number of key terrorist figures remain at large and are capable of planning and executing terrorist attacks. They have the capacity to wage ideological propaganda campaigns, recruit new members for their terrorist cells and induce them to carry out suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism.
2. Terrorist groups also have long been involved in local conflicts and tensions in Indonesia. In a number of instances they managed to transform local conflict into a radicalized communal strives.
Terrorist’s Network and Threat
3. Investigations by law enforcement agencies have disclosed that elements of terrorist developed links and established cooperation among different groups. While they may not share the same goals, but they forged tactical alliances collaborated in logistics, arms and explosives procurement. They launched joint fund raising activities, combat training and opened access to safe havens. Members of the Al-Jamaah Al-Islamiyah (JI) in Indonesia and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Philippines for example, had jointly carried out bombing attacks in the Philippines.
4. The influence of Al-Qaida in the Southeast Asian region including Indonesia is evident. Al-Qaida’s ideology of terror has become source of inspiration for members of the JI and the ASG as they pursue their nefarious activities—including the recruitment and training of suicide bombers and supervision of suicide attacks. Al-Qaida has also provided financial and operational support to both groups.
5. Investigation into cases of terrorist attacks has also resulted in a number of data, which will be useful for mapping out future efforts in preventing and combating terrorism in Indonesia and the Southeast Asian Region. First, some perpetrators in Indonesia have links to Al-Jemaah Al-Islamiyah or other terrorist groups in Southeast Asia. For instance, Umar Patek and Dulmatin have reportedly found safe haven in the Southern Philippines. At the end of last year, the wife and four children of Dulmatin were arrested by the Philippines security authorities and they had been sent back to Indonesia. Other terrorist groups in the region have shared arms and explosives with radical groups in Poso of Central Sulawesi.
6. Second, intelligence reports indicated that terrorists continue to rely on small arms and light weapons as well as explosives in carrying out their attacks. Despite the concern of the international community on the danger of non-state actors acquiring and utilizing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons, there is no hard evidence that these materials are in the hands of terrorists in Indonesia.
7. Third, violent, radicalism and extremism continue to spread in conflicted areas, helped along by the influence of Al-Qaida ideology of terror, as evidenced by VCDs confiscated from terrorists arrested in Poso recently. The recordings feature messages from Osama bin Laden calling for terrorist attacks around the world, and describing the tactics that are best used for such attacks.
8. Fourth, while advances in information and communication technology have generally been a blessing to society, terrorists have also made use of these technological advances to realize their atrocious intentions. For instance, the terrorists who carried out the first Bali bombing organized themselves through the internet before launching their attacks.
Government Responses to Terrorist Attacks
9. In the wake of each of terrorist attacks, Indonesian government has responded decisively but at the same time making sure that its fights will not undermine the people’s civil liberties and democratic reform. To provide strong legal basis for combating terrorism, the Government enacted Law Number 15 of 2002 on Crime on Money Laundering and Law Number 15 of 2003 on Combating Terrorism. It is important to note that Law Number 15 of 2003 on Combating Terrorism had criminalized all terrorist acts stipulated in 12 (twelve) United Nations International Conventions/Protocols on Combating Terrorism. In addition to that, the Government also established a Desk for Coordination of Eradicating Terrorism under the Coordinating Ministry for Politic, Law, and Security, which is tasked to formulate and coordinate national strategy to combat and eradicate terrorism.
10. Today more than 300 terrorist suspects have been arrested and more than 200 have been prosecuted. Although most of the perpetrators of the Bali Bombing I (2002) have been arrested and prosecuted, a series of major terrorist attacks have taken place since then. These include the bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta (2003), the attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta (2004) and the Bali Bombing II (2005). These attacks have inflicted huge losses in human lives and property. They have also indicated that the terrorists have not lost their ability to inflict carnage.
11. In order to prevent the arrested and prosecuted perpetrators from re-involving into terrorist activities, Indonesia also implement a ‘’rehabilitation and treatment’’ strategy, to bring ex-terrorist into ‘’the normal life’’. In this measures, moderate religious preachers or teachers, which are mostly respected by terrorist perpetrators, discuss with and counsel them on the true teaching of Islam, including on the concept of ‘’jihad’’.
International Cooperation
12. The Indonesian government has consistently been of the view that the United Nations occupies a pivotal role in the global efforts to combat international terrorism. The United Nations’ universality of membership endows it with Charter-based legitimacy to overcome the threat of international terrorism in a manner which is inclusive; wherein states and peoples, irrespective of political systems, civilizations and cultural backgrounds, unite in solidarity against this common scourge. Imbued with such a United Nations-centred perspective, the Government of Indonesia has welcomed the adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) on 28 September 2001 and sets its implementation as a matter of urgent priority.
13. As part of the effort to fulfill its international obligation, Indonesia is currently a party to six of the thirteen core conventions on terrorism, namely:
a) Convention on Offences and Certain other Act Committed on Board Aircraft (1963);
b) Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (1970);
c) Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation (1971);
d) Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (1980);
e) International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999);
f) International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997)
14. Indonesia attaches great importance to the early ratification or accession to the remaining seven conventions. Currently the priority of the Indonesian Government is being given to the process of ratifying/acceding to International Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Identification (1991).
Regional Cooperation
15. At the regional level, Southeast Asian continues to make progress in strengthening their legal frameworks for combating terrorism. Ten countries member of the Association of the South East Asian Nations signed the Agreement on Information Sharing in 2002 and the ASEAN Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Legal Matters in 2004. In December 2006, the ASEAN Summit in Cebu adopted the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, which serves as an umbrella agreement on regional cooperation in preventing, combating and suppressing terrorism.
16. The Convention effectively reflects all international conventions and protocols on counter-terrorism. More comprehensive than other regional conventions, it prescribes the promotion of mutual understanding among peoples through interfaith dialogue and addresses the root-causes of terrorism. It also stipulates cooperation in counter-terrorism among our law enforcement and relevant authorities.
17. In February 2004, the Government of Indonesia and Australia co-hosted Bali Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism participated by 26 countries in the region. The Meeting established the Legal Issues Working Group and Law Enforcement Working group. The work of these two Working Groups has become known as the Bali Counter-Terrorism Process.
18. Indonesia and Australia has also established Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) as a pool of resource for South East Asian Region in the fights against combat transnational crime, with focus on counter terrorism. Since it was inaugurated in 2004, JCLEC has undertaken more than 90 training programs in the fields of investigations, intelligence, forensics, financial investigations, and communication. More than 2000 (two-thousand) law enforcement officers from the region had been participated in those programs.
19. In March 2007, Indonesia and Australia co-hosted the Sub Regional Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism which convened six countries of South East Asia that are currently under the threat (Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand) of Al Jamaah Al Islamiyah terrorist networks. The conference aims to deepen cooperation among participating countries in field of border control, intelligence sharing, cyber terrorism, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism.
20. All of those regional framework and mechanism has contributed significantly to South East Asian countries to intensify intelligence and information sharing, developing an effective regional database on terrorist networks, addressing trans-border movement involved in terrorist operations, ensuring transport security, intensify capacity building, consultations between officials, analysts and field operators. Close cooperation with other governments within ASEAN and in the Asia-Pacific region is of utmost important for the successful operation of the Indonesian security apparatus to round up the terrorist rings.
Eradicating the Root Cause of Terrorism
21. Besides enforcing law and campaigning security operations, the fight against terrorism has also been conducted in parallel with a fighting to win the hearts and minds. To win this fight the Government together with various moderate groups must also address the root causes of terrorism. We cannot eradicate extremism and radicalism if we are not able to empower the moderates. One set of factors for Indonesia has to do with ideological extremism in interpreting and practicing of religion. Another set of factors arises from serious socioeconomic problems, such as poverty, unemployment, marginalization, and the inability to cope with globalization.
22. To deal with radicalism in a society, the government and likeminded civil society continuously collaborate to empower the moderates, as the overwhelming majority of the Indonesian people. In Indonesia today Muslim clerics and intellectuals together with their counterparts from other religious denominations are leading the ideological war against radicalism and extremism. They are rebutting extremist ideas being propagated by the terrorists and their supporters through various media and campaign methods.
23. Another important element in addressing the root causes of terrorism is to deal with poverty and economic and social inequalities. Economic growth is one of the fundamental factors to overcome unemployment problems, alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of the society. Various improvements in these social fabrics will bring about conducive environment for combating the menace of terrorism.
24. To promote interfaith and intra-faith dialogue among religion and civilization, the Indonesian government initiated the Asia Pacific Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation in 2004. This initiative has been followed by the Philippines (2006) and New Zealand (2007). Indonesia also set off the Asia-Europe or ASEM Interfaith Dialogue (2005), which has now become regular annual meeting. Cyprus hosted the Meeting in 2006, followed by China (2007). The Netherlands will be hosting the Meeting in 2008.
25. The Government of Indonesia is also of the view that the involvement of media to counter terrorism is also of importance. Following the publication of cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad by Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark, Indonesia and Norway co-sponsored Global Inter-Media Dialogue in 2006 (in Bali, Indonesia) and in 2007 (in Norway). This framework has initiated several programs of exchange of media practitioners, aimed at providing the participants with better understanding of other cultures civilization and religion.
26. In addition to those programs and activities, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, Indonesia inaugurated the UK-Indonesia Islamic Advisory Group. Seven leaders from Islamic community from Indonesia and their counterparts from the UK sit together in the program, to formulate recommendations for the achievement of three vital goals: to counter the narrative of religious extremism; to promote Islam as a religion of peace, mercy and tolerance; and to promote understanding between Islam and the West.
Conclusion
27. Combating terrorism requires a comprehensive and multi-faceted responses, either nationally, regionally and globally. International cooperation is a must to overcome the threat of terrorism, since no country is immune, and no country can single-handedly combat the threat of terrorism.
28. Although the threat of terrorism continues to loom, I do believe that we can overcome it if our response is equal to such a threat. In this regard, we must be just as persistent, as sophisticated and adaptable, and as strongly motivated as the terrorists are. Our desire for peace and a bright future for our peoples must match their hatred. And as they evolve, we must also evolve. We must therefore remain vigilant and innovative in our responses to this threat. We must continue to improve our methods and fine-tune our mechanisms in the fight against terrorism. We must continue to enhance the format of the dialogues we are holding to counter the clever and seductive propaganda of the terrorists.
29. In addition, international community must simultaneously address the root causes of terrorism such as poverty, injustice, racism and religious radicalism. We must therefore empower the moderates and strengthen the voice of moderation, inter alia through dialogue and cooperation among and between religious leaders, academics, media practitioners and other community leaders.
The Ambassadors Roundtable Series is designed to provide Ambassadors to the United States and their key diplomatic staff with a forum to discuss current and future counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts on a regional or country-specific basis. In an effort to draw upon various insights and experiences, the Ambassadors Roundtable Series builds upon and institutionalizes efforts over the past two years to engage in a dialogue with members of the international community, policy makers, and practitioners.
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