Govt Aborts Repatriation of Former Indonesian ISIS Fighters
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12 February 2020 08:25 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has officially decided not to repatriate former Indonesian terrorist fighters abroad, believed to be members of the defunct terrorist group ISIS.
Coordinating Minister Mahfud MD maintains that the government’s decision is strongly based on security concerns for the wellbeing of millions of Indonesians.
“The decision we made at the meeting is that the government must provide its people with the sense of security from terrorist threats and other new viruses that can potentially terrorize Indonesia’s 267 million population,” said Mahfud MD on Tuesday.
However, the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law and Security Affairs said that the government will gather valid information on the identities of these alleged Indonesian foreign terrorist fighters that are spread in Syria and Turkey.
“Their identities are incomplete,” said the coordinating minister.
This decision to not repatriate former Indonesian ISIS fighters comes after a widespread refusal expressed by Indonesians. The repatriation plan was initially mentioned by Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi.
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