Head of the BNPT Rycko Amelza Dahniel speaks at the 2024 BNPT National Working Meeting in Jakarta on February 20. (Photo: Antaranews.com)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has launched seven priority programmes this year to build community resilience and public awareness regarding the radical and violent ideology of terrorists, according to Antara news agency.
In a statement released on February 20, BNPT head Rycko Amelza Dahniel said that four of the priority programmes comprise the empowerment of women, children, and youth; the establishment of "siap siaga" (prepared) villages; the setting up of peace schools; and the construction of a national campus.
He said the first four programmes are dedicated to building public resilience, especially among women, children, and teenagers, so that these groups have the power to prevent, deter, and oppose the violent ideology of radicalism, and terrorism.
The next three priority programmes comprise the assessment of employees assigned high-risk tasks, the handling of Indonesian citizens affiliated with foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), and the reintegration and re-education of deradicalised partners and families outside prison, he added.
The BNPT has implemented priority programmes under Presidential regulation concerning the National Action Plan for Preventing and Combating Violent-Based Extremism that Leads to Terrorism (RAN PE) for 2020–2024.
The BNPT's Indonesia Knowledge Hub (I-KHUb) data for 2023 shows that women, children, and teenagers are the most targeted for online and offline radicalisation, making them a vulnerable group.
The data is strengthened by the results of research conducted in 2016–2023 by the Setara Institute, one of BNPT's research collaborators, which shows that there has been an increase in the migration of radicalised teenagers./.
