Page 12 - The Indian EYE 072123

OPINION JULY 21, 2023 | The Indian Eye 12

Indonesia’s deradicalization pro-
gramme are that they use a former
terrorism convict to interact with
convicts in jail in order to bring re-
latability and credibility. It looks at
various socioeconomic indicators
and provides assistance that becomes
crucial when the convict is out of the
prison. This also builds trust among
families, thereby influencing the
thinking and behavior of the State.
Strengths and Weaknesses
of the Policy
The ultimate aim of the State is
to prevent further terrorist attacks
perpetrated by those who are already
convicted. For this, the foundation-
al thing is to establish trust between
State and the ex-convicts or their
close connections. Hence, economic
incentives are provided by the State
to these people. About 800 people
attended the deradicalization pro-
gramme, signifying the reach of the In the case of Indonesia, even though religious leaders are effective agents in fighting radicalization,
programme. The Entrepreneurship there is no special religious rehabilitation process as such (File photo)
Empowerment Programme imple-
mented as part of the policy was aimed
at rehabilitation. Entrepreneurship ization through social media and Malaysia’s Counterterrorism programme, the main actor is the
empowerment programme ensures other online platforms. Model: A Comparison National Counterterrorism Agency.
that the ones who are out of prison Malaysia has been a success story Malaysian agencies coordinate with
are able to find new livelihoods and Assessing the Success of the in developing and effectively imple- other State institutions in the deradi-
are self-sufficient enough to not re- Indonesian CT Model menting its counterterrorism model, calization as well as in the rehabilita-
sort to recidivism for financial needs. Measuring the success rate of a especially with the deradicalization tion process. These agencies include
While there are areas of strength counterterrorism model is difficult programme. Malaysia is the immedi- the Social Welfare Department,
in Indonesia’s deradicalization pol- considering the lack of empirical ate neighbor of Indonesia and has the State Alms Centre, Prison Depart-
icy, the current policy fails to cater information, especially with de-rad- majority of the population following ment and Royal Malaysian Police.
to the changing nature and modes of icalization programmes that look Islam as in Indonesia. The attacks in Malaysia has been successful in
radicalization processes and terror- at human attitudes and behavioral Malaysia are mainly carried out by adapting to the new challenges in the
ist recruitments. The main terrorist patterns. However, trends in the re- terror groups that are prominent in counterterrorism initiative, including
group during the formulation and cidivism rates, as well as the number Indonesia, such as JI and its splinter those relating to online radicalization
implementation of the deradicaliza- of incidents of violence in the State, groups. The authority that overlooks and recruitment. A Counter-Messag-
tion programme of the State was JI. can give an overview of the success these programmes in both countries ing Centre has been established to
With the growing presence of ISIS rate of the counterterrorism model is their National Police. tackle the issue of online propaganda
and ISIS-affiliated terror groups in of Indonesia which has two prongs of The deradicalization pro- by terror groups.
the State, the deradicalization pro- hard security approach as well as the gramme introduced by Malaysia can The recidivism rate in Malaysia
gramme is faltering at countering soft approach relating to de-radical- be considered a key feature in the stood at 5.4 per cent during 2001–
terrorism. From 2016 to 2021, there ization. Counterterrorism agencies success of its counterterrorism mod- 2011. The Global Terrorism Index
have been series of attacks by Islam- like Densus 88 have been successful el. While Indonesia has a tangible report of 2023 shows that there is a
ic State and affiliated group Jamaah in capturing terrorists and foiling var- legal framework, counterterrorism decline in terrorism activities in Ma-
Ansharut Daulah. These attacks ious suicide bombings. Indonesia has agencies and intelligence services, laysia compared to Indonesia, which
have included the 2016 Central Ja- arrested over 896 people associated the deradicalization programme of hasn’t shown a considerable decrease
karta attacks, 2018 Surabaya bomb- with acts of terrorism out of which Malaysia can be observed as more in the overall scores.
ings and the South Jakarta bombings 126 have received the death penalty effective than the Indonesian model
that took place on 31 March 2021. and 694 were given the life sentence. because of the multiplicity of actors Lakshmi Priya Vijayan is a Research
ISIS has its radicalization as well The recidivism rates, indicating in the implementation of the pro- Intern at the Manohar Parrikar Insti-
as recruitment methods different the numbers of ex-convicts return- gramme and greater emphasis on so- tute for Defence Studies and Analyses,
from JI and its splinter groups be- ing back to terrorism, in Indonesia is cial reintegration of ex-convicts. For New Delhi
cause of its use of technology, espe- reported to be on the higher side at Malaysia’s ‘Religious Rehabilitation Views expressed are of the author and
cially social media to radicalize and 11.39 per cent, during the period be- Programme’, the main communica- do not necessarily reflect the views of
recruit. There have been reports of tween 2002 and 2020. The recidivism tors are religious leaders and coun- the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
increased usage of YouTube, Face- rate in Spain, for instance, between sellors. Government of India.
book and Twitter as methods of pro- 2004 and 2017 was at 4 per cent while In the case of Indonesia, even
paganda and radicalization in Indo- that of Austria during 2006–20 was though religious leaders are effective This article first appeared in the
nesia. The processes and methods at 4 per cent. As seen in Table 1 be- agents in fighting radicalization, there Comments section of the website (www.
followed by the State in its deradical- low, Indonesia’s overall scores have is no special religious rehabilitation idsa.in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute
ization programme seem inadequate shown fluctuations, as captured by process as such. In the implementa- for Defense Studies and Analyses, New
to address the challenge of radical- the Global Terrorism Index. tion of Indonesia’s deradicalization Delhi on July 11, 2023

www.TheIndianEYE.com