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 NationalCounterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has launched seven priority programmes this yearto build community resilience and public awareness regarding the radical andviolent ideology of terrorists, according to Antara news agency.
In a statement released on February 20, BNPT headRycko Amelza Dahniel said that four of the priority programmes comprise theempowerment of women, children, and youth; the establishment of "siapsiaga" (prepared) villages; the setting up of peace schools; and theconstruction of a national campus.
He said the first four programmes are dedicated tobuilding public resilience, especially among women, children, and teenagers, sothat these groups have the power to prevent, deter, and oppose the violentideology of radicalism, and terrorism.
The next three priority programmes comprise the assessmentof employees assigned high-risk tasks, the handling of Indonesian citizensaffiliated with foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), and the reintegration andre-education of deradicalised partners and families outside prison, he added.
The BNPT has implemented priority programmes underPresidential regulation concerning the National Action Plan for Preventing andCombating Violent-Based Extremism that Leads to Terrorism (RAN PE) for2020–2024.
The BNPT's Indonesia Knowledge Hub (I-KHUb) data for 2023shows that women, children, and teenagers are the most targeted for online andoffline radicalisation, making them a vulnerable group.
The data is strengthened by the results of researchconducted 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 radicalisedteenagers./.
