"Currently, we are placing our focus on preventive measures and deradicalization efforts," Siregar remarked on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday.
He noted that the 17th AMMTC spotlights several priority issues, including terrorism, adding that matters related to terrorism have their roots engrained into ideological factors, and hence, necessitate even greater efforts than merely conducting law enforcement to combat it.
To this end, it becomes increasingly important to put in efforts to deradicalize terrorists and prevent the spread of their ideology, he emphasized.
Siregar further noted that the National Police has been successful in suppressing terrorism in Indonesia by averting terror acts from taking place owing to its preventive measures and deradicalization efforts.
"We are focusing on how to prevent those found guilty of a terrorism case from returning to their radical ideology," he stated.
In order to better monitor the spread of terror ideology, he said, Densus 88 is also actively monitoring the dynamics in the digital space, including websites and chat groups on social media.
He then underscored the importance of developing a system that can signal an early warning to member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), currently chaired by Indonesia, to detect any potential for terror acts.
"All terrorist groups are dangerous and dynamic. Hence, we need to be fully capable of detecting their activities in the hopes of paralyzing them even before they manage to execute their plans," he pointed out.
The 17th AMMTC is being held from August 21 to August 23, 2023, with a plenary meeting as the opening session. On the first day of the meeting, Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding on the handling of transnational crimes with Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
The agendas on the second day include a consultative meeting with three partner countries: China, Japan, and South Korea.
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Translator: Fransiska M, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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