Mainly terrorism in Indonesia: catch all

[davidbfpo]

Hat tip to Atlantic magazine for this article, which is a review of a book on far wider issues. So back to Indonesia:

The big truth is that Indonesia has come close to effectively eliminating the threat of extremist violence

(He ends with) The big truth is that Indonesia has come close to effectively eliminating the threat of extremist violence,” Tepperman writes. An alternative truth is that Indonesia, through complicated and controversial means, has, for the moment, significantly reduced the threat of extremist violence from terrorists. It’s certainly an achievement, but it’s one that lies somewhere between a stopgap and a solution.

Link:http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...orism/500951/?

[davidbfpo]

A WaPo article and the theme is familiar to observers:

Indonesia’s overcrowded prisons are ill-equipped to deal with Islamic militant inmates, hampering efforts to prevent the spread of violent radicalism in institutions that have become known as jihadist breeding grounds, a study has found.

Link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/study-extremists-still-flourishing-in-indonesias-prisons/2018/02/09/1cc7b94a-0d5d-11e8-998c-96deb18cca19_story.html?

[davidbfpo]

A short overview article. A sample passage:

The attack exposed the lingering threat from homegrown militants in a country that has largely avoided the scourge of Islamist terrorism since the collapse of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the late 2000s. In the years since, several newly-formed groups along with JI’s offshoots have remained active beneath the radar, posing only a latent threat to security in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Link:https://www.asiasentinel.com/society...nts-re-emerge/

[davidbfpo]

After what appears to have been a lull in Islamist violence an Australian author @ Lowy Institute offers an explanation. He starts with:

Indonesia has again exploded in a paroxysm of terrorist violence, but with a new twist: family suicide bombers. This may be the first time in the world that parents took their children on a family outing to blow themselves up.
(Ends with) If three families can be involved in two days’ worth of terrorist attacks in Surabaya, surely there are more ready to act.

Link:https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-in...nd-isis-family

[davidbfpo]

An article in the latest CTC's The Sentinel, which is detailed - even if the official investigations have not made comments.
Link:https://ctc.usma.edu/surabaya-bombin...eat-indonesia/

There are a few points of note, aside from the role families and women. This one struck me:

Only 86 Indonesians have returned so far (from Middle East combat zones), and none of those who joined the Islamic State have been involved in violence in Indonesia. Only one of these 86 perpetrated an attack on a police officer at North Sumatra police headquarters in Medan in June 2017. And he had spent six months training in Syria with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

[davidbfpo]

I did spot a BBC news item on this decision, but this is the first fuller commentary - from Australia. It starts with:

President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo’s decision to release Abu Bakar Ba’asyir is misguided, legally questionable and politically inept.
It sends the message that if one defies the state long enough, it will eventually capitulate. It emboldens those who see democracy as incompatible with Islam, because that’s what Ba’asyir has been arguing all his life. It gives jihadists back their hero, his status elevated still more by apparently winning his freedom without having to accept Pancasila, the state ideology, or pledge loyalty to the Indonesian state.

Link:https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-in...ong-all-counts

[davidbfpo]

A very short article, which opens with:

The State Palace has confirmed that the government decided to call off the plan to grant early release to radical Muslim cleric and terror convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir due to his resistance to pledge loyalty to the state ideology, Pancasila, and the Republic of Indonesia.

Link:https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/01/23/baasyir-early-release-plan-cancelled-state-palace.html?