Indonesian Terrorism Law Reform Still Faces Opposition

Voice of America

21 January 2016

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s call for strengthening the country’s national security law could still face resistance in parliament, even after Islamic State-linked militants last week carried out the first serious terrorist attack in Jakarta since 2009.

On Tuesday Widodo voiced support for amending the country’s 2003 anti-terrorism law to prohibit citizens from joining terrorist groups operating in conflict-ridden Iraq and Syria, and to ban the return of citizens who went there to fight alongside terrorists.

BNPT, Indonesia’s national counterterrorism agency, estimates that about 800 Indonesians have traveled to Middle East to fight for the Islamic State group (IS.)

Close to 30 were killed while fighting for IS. And more than 150 are believed to have returned to the Indonesia, some of whom became combat trained and tested.

… “They were saying you are trying to condemn a bunch of people without sending us strong evidence,” said Indonesia political analyst Alexander Arifianto with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

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