Rejecting IS Combatants

Lively debate about repatriating Islamic State (IS) group combatants in Iraq and Syria has drained our energy.

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

President Joko Widodo (center right) speaks to reporters on Wednesday (12/2/2020) at the State Palace in Jakarta, stating the Indonesian government’s policy stance that it does not repatriate cross-border terrorists.

The basic question is, what is the main consideration in addressing this discourse? The answer is indeed not simple but with clear and argumentative thinking, I think this problem can be seen clearly. If we reflect on history, attacks carried out by IS have led to the deaths of thousands of people. Since its establishment, IS has terrorized no less than 33 countries, carried out more than 228 attacks and killed at least 3,000 people. This data can be used as a strong argument that in reality, the seeds of radicalism can be planted anywhere, from the most fascist country to countries that uphold democratic values.

In the latter countries, it is interesting to note the findings of Jack Snyder (1999), professor at Columbia University (New York). In his book titled From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict, he writes that the history of democracy is the stretch of the history of conflict, violence and radicalism. The wars that were the peak of violence in the world, such as the Napoleonic war (1803-1815), the war of Emperor Wilhem (1914-1918), and also the war of Adolf Hitler (1939-1945), were largely caused by efforts to democratize itself.