The whereabouts of about 400 released convicted terrorists are unknown to the government, according to Abdul Rahman Kadir, deputy chairman of Indonesia's National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).About 600 convicted terrorists have been released from jail since 2016, but the government has only been able to locate 184 of them, according to Kadir. Some of those released have gone on to commit acts of terrorism while out of jail. The suspect of the molotov cocktail attack in Samarinda last year was previously convicted of terrorism, and a bombing in Bandung last week was carried out by a graduate of an ISIS training in Aceh. The police were aware of Bandung bomber Yayat Chadiyat, but due to lack of supervision after his release, they were not able to anticipate his attack.In 2014, the government launched a deradicalization program in prisons housing terrorists. The programs include religious lectures, programs countering religious extremism, and courses on Indonesia's pluralist national ideology, pancasila. The government does not release data on reoffending rates, and the public has no access to information on how successful the deradicalization program is, which has lead to concerns about potential future terrorist attacks.Taufik Andrie, an observer at antiradicalization NGO Bridging Without Prejudice, said the government's inability to track convicted terrorists shows the lack of an effective terrorism prevention program. "The deradicalization program cannot be a drive-by sort of thing, just something carried out while they are in jail," Taufik told VICE Indonesia. "The program needs to be long term initiative, so far it's not been properly established and run continuously."The concept of deradicalization is 'blurred" according to Muhammadiyah chairman Dahnil Anzar Simanuntak. "The structure of the program is unclear. They are not able to properly define a radical, they base what they think a radical is on stereotyping and physical appearances," said Dahnil as quoted by Detik.Dahnil said that the deradicalization program is held back by bureaucracy and the lack of a long term strategy. "It's only short term program, because the BNPT needs to use it's budget," said Dahnil.Under the current law, convicted terrorists must attend a mandatory deradicalization program while in prison. But once out on parole, there is no government mandate for convicts to continue the program and prevent them from falling back into terrorism networks. "Correctional facilities in Indonesia do not have the necessary monitoring and empowerment mechanism needed to deradicalize, they are mostly responsible for administrative work," Taufik said.Convicted terrorists need organized support systems that help them find new social circles once out of prison, to keep them away from the terrorist networks that landed them in jail in the first place, according to Taufik. "However, if the we see they don't want to accept the rehabilitation program, then we need to apply a monitoring mechanism."The process takes a long time and the results aren't exactly measurable because it prioritizes a shift in ideology and cognitive thinking. Disengagement with terrorism is about a change in behavior, which is more measurable. For example, how long a convicted terrorist can avoid violence and contacts with their previous terrorist network."The deradicilzation program has been attacked for not addressing what made people turn to terrorism in the first place, and applying a one size fits all model to everyone."Deradicalization is a long road, we must pay attention to the root of the problems. We need to see it individually, to know if the program is working for each person. The fundamental problem lies in the design and concept, the existing program does not address individuals separately," said Taufik. "Deradicalization is tough, but not impossible."
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