NII is clearly the parent of all terror networks in Indonesia
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The outlawed Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), with its goal of replacing the nation’s Pancasila ideology with faith-based governance, is the “parent” of terror networks in the country, the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) said.

"NII is clearly the parent of all terror networks in Indonesia. In 1993, under the global geopolitical situation at the time, it split into several groups, including the JAT (Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid), JAD (Jamaah Ansharut Daulah), and others," BNPT’s director of prevention, Brig.Gen. Pol. R. Ahmad Nurwakhid, said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.

According to Nurwakhid, the arrest of 16 NII members in March was the right move by the Indonesian Police's Special Detachment (Densus) 88.

It was a preventive measure as the outlawed group was planning to overthrow the legitimate government before 2024.

"This is an anticipative effort. Counter-terrorism according to Law Number 5 of 2018, must be held with a holistic approach, from upstream to downstream. The legal process or law enforcement in the downstream, and preventive justice by arresting and taking action in the upstream," he explained.

Although its members are still in minority, NII is considered a serious threat, with its main agenda being to assume power and replace the state’s Pancasila ideology with a religious system that it believes to be true through various scenarios and strategies.

"In addition to taqiyah (hiding identity), they have the strategy of tamkin by influencing all lines, creating conflicts and chaos to accelerate their agenda, similar to the case in Poso and Ambon," he said.

Nurwakhid then cited Sarjono Kartoesuwiryo, the son of Darul Islam/Indonesian Islamic Army (DI/TII) founder, who said that there are still around two million members of the NII, not including unregistered sympathizers.

Sarjono pledged allegiance to the Republic of Indonesia at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs in 2019.

Nurwakhid also dismissed views that the authority overreacted in declaring the group as a terror movement.

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“So, whoever they are, whether it's JAD, JI (Jemaah Islamiyah), NII, when there are elements of crimes of terror, then we will immediately take action. Furthermore, they will be processed by law and deradicalized to bring them back to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," he affirmed.

Earlier in March, the police arrested 16 suspected NII members at two locations in West Sumatra province. Officers found documents outlining the group’s mission to replace the nation’s founding ideology Pancasila and secular government with a caliphate by fomenting chaos.

Along with West Sumatra, West Java and Bali have been NII hotbeds, according to police.

The NII, also known in Arabic as Darul Islam, and its armed wing, the Islamic Army of Indonesia (TII), waged an armed rebellion against Jakarta until the Indonesian government crushed it in the 1960s.

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Translator: M Arief Iskandar, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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