Jokowi wants the ex-ISIS Indonesian members to be stateless. But, it is not that simple. (Image via Merdeka.com)

Details behind Jokowi's refusal to repatriate Indonesian ISIS members

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
Politics
Feb 14, 2020
1949
The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), gave his final verdict not to repatriate 689 Indonesian ex-ISIS members due to security and safety concerns. The former Governor of Jakarta worries that the ex-ISIS members will bring terrorism ideology into Indonesia.

Speaking on Wednesday, the President strongly referred to the nationals not as “Indonesian ex-ISIS members” but “ISIS members ex-Indonesian”. The statement asserted that no matter what will happen, Jokowi will not repatriate the nationals as they are not considered as Indonesian nationals anymore.

Chief of Staff of Presidency, Moeldoko, also clarified that 689 ex-ISIS members from Indonesia are now stateless. They had burned their passports and no longer had the desire to be recognized as Indonesian nationals.

While strong, the statement from Jokowi and Moeldoko remains questionable because the revocation of citizenship requires legal force. Therefore, until now, the ex-ISIS members in Turkey and Syria remain Indonesian.

No legitimate decision to revoke their citizenship yet. Indonesian international relations experts said that stateless decision requires approval from the People’s Representatives Council (DPR). Even, if Jokowi really wants to declare the ex-ISIS members stateless, he should compile a respective Presidential Decree.

Regarding the burning of a passport, it cannot be used as solid evidence since it is based on videos. Moreover, statelessness is regulated under Laws No. 12 Article 23 of 2006 on Citizenship. There are 9 factors that lead to statelessness:
1. Acquires another citizenship voluntarily;
2. Will not refuse or will not relinquish other citizenship when the incumbent has the opportunity to do so;
3. Is declared of having relinquished their citizenship by the President at their voluntary request, the person is aged above 18 (eighteen) or has married, is living abroad, and with the relinquishment of their citizenship does not become stateless because of it;
4. Has entered into foreign military service without prior approval from the President;
5. Has voluntarily entered into the services of foreign entities in a position whereby law, such a position in Indonesia is only reserved for citizens of the Republic of Indonesia;
6. Has voluntarily declared allegiance to a foreign country or part of the said foreign country;
7. Was not obligated but has voluntarily participated in a referendum that is civic in nature for a foreign country;
8. Possesses a passport or travel document equivalent to a passport from a foreign country or a letter that may be construed as a valid citizenship identity from another country on his/her name; or
9. Living outside the territories of the Rep. of Indonesia for 5 (five) consecutive years for non-official purposes, without legal reason and deliberately refuses to declare their intention to remain as Indonesian citizens before the 5 (five) year limit ends, and in each of the next 5 (five) years, the said person fails to declare their intention of retaining their citizenship to the Indonesian Representative offices in which the said person’s residence is under their jurisdiction although the said Representative Office has duly informed them in writing, as long as the incumbent does not become stateless because of such negligence.

The Indonesian government needs to interview the ex-ISIS member person to person. While being a liability to the U.N Refugees Agency (UNHCR), morally, the ex-ISIS from Indonesia is still a liability to the Indonesian government.

If the Indonesian government decides to repatriate them, they need to reeducate them to ensure their allegiance to Indonesia. Even then, it might take years to ensure the reeducation measure really works.

Source: https://bit.ly/2uBNMam

Politics , Terrorism , War , Conflict , Ideology , ASEAN , Indonesia , Middle-East , ISIS