Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Indonesia

Overview:  Indonesia continued to detect, disrupt, degrade, and deny safe havens for terrorist groups operating within its borders.  Indonesia’s counterterrorism agencies work cooperatively with U.S. government law enforcement agencies.  While not a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the Indonesian government has denounced ISIS and supported a National Action Plan on Countering Violent Extremism that enlists civil society organizations and a robust civilian-led law enforcement effort to combat terrorism.  The Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and the Indonesian National Police (INP) considered Jemaah Islamiya (JI) to be the most dangerous terrorist group currently operating in the country.  The BNPT viewed Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) as a decentralized organization that remained a priority for law enforcement.  In 2023, Indonesia arrested and charged several hundred individuals for their affiliation with terrorist groups, including for membership in JI and JAD, demonstrating Indonesia’s sustained CT effort.  However, because the average sentence for convicted terrorists is less than three years, there is a need for postrelease deradicalization programs to increase.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  According to the INP and BNPT, there were no terrorist attacks in Indonesia in 2023; however, police prevented several attempted attacks.  In April an immigration officer and an officer from Detachment 88, the Indonesian National Police Counterterrorism Unit, were killed during an attempt by suspected Uzbek foreign terrorist fighters (affiliated with Khatiba Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad) to escape their detention in Jakarta.  Detachment 88 successfully interdicted several attacks this year that were in the planning stages, at least one of which was aimed at disrupting Indonesia’s presidential elections.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  The 2018 Law on Counterterrorism is the controlling legal mandate and authority for Indonesian counterterrorism agencies.  Because of security-related issues, all terrorist suspects are currently tried in three Jakarta district courts.  Although courts report a near-100 percent conviction rate on CT cases, sentences average less than three years.  Reluctance to share information broadly within the Indonesian government impedes the work of investigators and prosecutors, and in some high-profile cases the sentences for convicted terrorists were lenient.

Indonesian counterterrorism efforts are civilian led within the INP, with primary investigative responsibility assigned to the special CT Unit Detachment 88.  The INP, including Detachment 88, received ongoing training and capacity building assistance from the U.S. government.  From mid-2020 through 2023, Detachment-88 arrested more than 600 members of terrorist networks, but by the end of 2023 there was a downward trend in arrests.  In 2021 there were 370 arrests, 248 in 2022, and 148 in 2023.  The INP also claimed successes in its deradicalization programs, which encouraged several prominent terrorists to publicly renounce violence and participate in an INP public relations campaign against violence.  Indonesia does not consider several U.S. government-designated terrorist groups as such, including Hamas and the Majelis Mujahedeen Council.

The Indonesian government has integrated INTERPOL databases for terrorist screening at points of entry, but ongoing information sharing challenges at times hindered the effectiveness of screening efforts.  The BNPT has committed to developing a national terrorist watchlist and acknowledges that responsibility as a legal mandate under UN Security Council resolutions 2396 and 2309.  However, significant roadblocks to information sharing persisted because of unconnected technology platforms that vary across provinces and government agencies.

In response to periodic attacks on Indonesian security forces and civilians by the militant wings of some Papuan separatist groups, some Indonesian government officials have publicly proposed designating Papuan armed groups as terrorist organizations, but Indonesian government agencies have not officially designated them as such.  By the end of 2023, prosecutors and investigators working for CT agencies reported that they had not received formal authorization to prosecute or investigate Papuan groups under the counterterrorism law.  Police and military have overlapping authorities to respond to armed groups in the Papua region, but CT agencies have not been reported as playing a significant role against armed Papuan separatist groups.  The U.S. government has not designated Papuan separatist groups as terrorist organizations.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Indonesia is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering and in October became the 40th full member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).  Its Financial Intelligence Unit, the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (or PPATK), is a member of the Egmont Group.

In February, Indonesia completed its FATF mutual evaluation, which noted its strong legal framework to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as its success in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting terrorist financing (TF) in line with its risk profile.  However, the report also noted the need for Indonesia to improve its understanding of the TF risk of abuse of its non-profit sector and to take proportionate measures without discouraging or disrupting legitimate charitable activities.

Countering Violent Extremism:  The BNPT and INP lead Indonesian government efforts on preventing and countering violence extremism (P/CVE) with assistance from social and religious affairs ministries.  In 2023, Indonesian government messaging focused on narratives intended to weaken the appeal of terrorism.  Both the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, which oversees public schools and universities, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which oversees religious (including Islamic) schools and universities, have programs intended to prevent student radicalization to violence.

International and Regional Cooperation:   In 2023, Indonesia continued to play a prominent role in the Global Counterterrorism Forum as co-chairs of the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group with Australia.  The CVE Working Group released two best-practice policy toolkits on national/local cooperation in P/CVE.  Indonesia continued to support CT efforts in several regional and multilateral organizations:

• The United Nations
• The Aqaba Process (hosted by the Jordanian government)
• The Counterterrorism Information Facility (hosted by the Singaporean government)
• ASEAN
  • The ASEAN Regional Forum on CVE
  • The ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meetings
  • The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

The BNPT is the chair of the Working Group on Counterterrorism of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime.  In 2023, Indonesia led coordination among ASEAN sectoral bodies to implement P/CVE efforts under the Bali Workplan.  Indonesia continued to use the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation as a regional training center for CT officials.  Surabaya and Surakarta are members of the Strong Cities Network.