Dangers of Repatriating IS Affiliates

The wave of public opposition to the repatriation of Indonesian Islamic State (IS) Iraq and Syria has been strong. The government has decided not to repatriate IS combatants for the security of the people in the country

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

An activist holds a poster that reads, “We support Jokowi, reject ISIS”, during a demonstration on Monday (10/2/2020) at Pandang Istana Park, on the northwest corner of Medan Merdeka in Central Jakarta. The event objected to the planned repatriation of almost 700 Indonesians who had joined the militia of Islamic State (IS), and called on the government to take the best policy to protect its citizens at home, saying that radicalism had no place in the country.

The public opposition shows that Indonesian people are fed up with the violence of radical groups, which use religion as justification. The community still remembers the church bombing in Samarinda that injured a 3-year-old toddler, Trinity Hutahean, as well as Alvaro Aurelius Tristan Sinaga and Anita Kristobel. Innocent toddlers that until now must bear the pain and physical injury due to the actions of supporters of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.

The community also remembers the cruel actions of the IS group when they massacred five police officers in the Mobile Brigade Headquarters. The video of the attack shows how barbaric their deeds were. Bomb victims are also still suffering today and must take medication throughout their lives to relieve the pain they still feel.

What is feared by the community is that the 600 people – a number not yet verified – can be the seeds of new terrorists who will carry out acts of violence under the pretext of religion to realize their unfinished dreams. Moreover, in Indonesia, there are many terrorist groups affiliated with the IS, such as the Jamaah Anshoru Daulah (JAD), the Jamaah Anshoru Khilafah (JAK), the Eastern Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT), and their splinter groups, which might attract people to return to this country to join and realize their khilafah dream in this country.

We still remember when the IS group issued a fatwa "if you cannot do jihad in Syria then do jihad in your respective countries", and with this fatwa, IS members in Indonesia committed acts of terrorism in the country. It does not rule out the possibility that the same fatwa will be issued and how the impact on Indonesia if the number of IS supporters that already exist in Indonesia is increased by 600 people who will be repatriated. This group will get new ammunition to continue its jihad and war. It is this worry that makes the wave of opposition so strong because of the unresolved trauma of violent actions that have caused many victims.

AFP PHOTO/AYHAM AL-MOHAMMAD

Leefa (C) arrives at the Ain Issa camp, 50 kilometres north of Raqa, with other Indonesians after fleeing the Islamic State (IS) group\'s Syrian bastion on June 13, 2017.When Leefa set out from Indonesia for the Islamic State group\'s Syrian stronghold of Raqa, she says she thought she was headed to an earthly paradise for the faithful. She and her family imagined being surrounded by true believers and expected free healthcare and jobs paying salaries they could only dream of in Indonesia, the world\'s most populous Muslim-majority country.

Learning from “deportees”

It is undeniable that there are many motives that encourage Indonesian people to migrate to Syria. From those who want to migrate to Syria as citizens or want to join the IS group in fighting against the Sunnis who were slaughtered by Shias like their propaganda narratives. These citizens not only join the IS as in Syria there are many factions, such as the faction affiliated with Al Qaeda, Jabal Nushra.

Their motivation indeed is highly varied, from low radical scale to high scale. However, the motive for migrating was actually based on full awareness and conscious choice that they no longer wanted to be Indonesian citizens for various reasons. The main reason they migrated was almost uniform, namely that Indonesia is a darul kufur state, which does not apply the rules or laws of God, but uses man-made laws and there are many state practices that violate the rules, namely the laws are felt sharper downward compared to upward. Because they consider Indonesia already full of munkar (defying God\'s laws) and immorality, voluntarily and even by selling their possessions, they migrated with the intention to leave Indonesia forever. Unfortunately, the dream sank in the middle of the road because the Turkish Government arrested them and deported them to Indonesia.

Their motivation indeed is highly varied, from low radical scale to high scale.

The Social Affairs Ministry has a mandate to accommodate these deportee and it is at this ministry’s institution that they undergo rehabilitation for 3-4 weeks and some for more than a month. In the assessments made of these deportees, as many as 40 percent said they still wanted to return to Syria. This indicated that even though they had been deported and detained in Turkish prisons and were undergoing a process of rehabilitation, their enthusiasm to join the IS or other groups in Syria had not been extinguished. This was evident from some deportees who carried out their "jihad" in Indonesia after they were sent home after rehabilitation.

Young Farmers and Anggi Kusuma are two deportees who planned to make chemical bombs in Bandung for their "jihad". Meanwhile, Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife, Ulfah Handayani Saleh, were two deportees who carried out suicide bombings at a church in Sulu, Southern Philippines. Tito Karnavian, the then-National Police Chief, at the time of the Surabaya bombing said that the mastermind was Chalid Abu Bakar, a deportee who also underwent rehabilitation in the same institution as Young Farmers, Rullie, and the others. This indicated that, despite the rehabilitation process, the spirit of jihad had not been extinguished.

These deportees had not yet entered Syria and had not been further exposed to the ideology of combatants in Syria, but their enthusiasm was no less strong than those who migrated to Syria.

ANTARA FOTO/RONY MUHARRMAN

Residents from various backgrounds attend a vigil in opposition to radicalism and terrorism in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Tuesday (15/5) night. The participants sent prayers to victims of the bomb attack in Surabaya and expressed support for the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police in its efforts to eradicate terrorism.

Government homework

Junaedi, a citizen who joined IS and settled in Syria for six months, managed to return to Indonesia. Junaedi did not return alone, but with an entourage. However, six months after his return, Junaedi was arrested by the Densus 88 counterterrorism squad. Learning from Junaedi\'s experience, it is also possible that many Indonesian citizens who have joined the IS and other terrorist groups in Syria have also returned to Indonesia. Some of those who returned were detected, such as Junaedi and his friends, but some were not detected and did not go through legal proceedings. Those who are detected will be easy to monitor, especially if they have passed the punishment process.

The question is, how have they returned but are not detected? Can the government monitor the movements of these people? Data collection must be done immediately to find out how many Indonesians are actually scattered across several refugee camps in Syria. The number of 600 people is not confirmed. From the data collection it can be seen whether any of them has returned to Indonesia, who they are and what they have done in Indonesia. This is very important considering that if someone has returned, intensive monitoring of these people must be carried out.

Among radical groups, people who have gone to Syria and especially those who have fought with IS will be considered "heroes" and respected figures. They are considered to have qualified expertise and therefore deserve to be leaders. If the Indonesians are repatriated, this support might again pump up their jihad spirit and not rule out violent actions in the country.

We cannot turn a blind eye as well to the spirit of “making Indonesia a khilafah” by organizations claiming to be "non-violence". These organizations and IS affiliates have a common vision and mission and if they unite they will become a new force. The new force does not only have the same passion to "make Indonesia a khilafah", but they are also equipped with combat skills and war strategies learned while living in Syria. Whether to repatriate or not is an important decision that must be considered carefully by weighing various aspects. The rights of Indonesian citizens who migrated to Syria must indeed be guaranteed, but the safety of citizens from the potential for extreme violence and also the security of this country is far more important to think about.

Therefore, the government must think about this very carefully and not be in a hurry. Collecting data is the first step. Data collection is to find out the real number of Indonesian citizens who migrated and joined various radical groups in Syria, while assessment is needed to determine the level of radicalism of each individual who wants to return home. The results of this assessment are the basis for consideration of whether these people need to be repatriated or not.

Since radicalism cannot be measured by appearance because it is present in the mind, the assessment must be carried out thoroughly by using various methods and it will be time-consuming. The government cannot be tricked by a statement of loyalty to the Republic of Indonesia because they may be willing to sign it for pragmatic reasons. Loyalty to the Republic of Indonesia is measured by action, not by a statement. Therefore, the government must build better assessment tools, which are not merely ceremonial, but which can truly be a guarantee that a person has really changed and will no longer cause trouble.

The government is already quite busy dealing with terrorist groups that now exist in Indonesia.. Therefore, careful and comprehensive consideration is needed, while lessons can be learned from the handling of deportees. We do not want to see the number of victims of violence increase as Indonesia should protect its citizens.

Dete Aliah, Terrorism observer.