Indonesia’s Way To Counter Terrorism 2002—2009: Lesson Learned

Abstract

Terrorism emerged as serious security problem in
Indonesia since a network of terrorist group rocked
this country, started from the Bali bombing (2002)
followed by other consecutive bombings, such as, J.
W. Marriott Hotel bombing (2003), the Australian
Embassy bombing (2004), and the Ritz Carlton Hotel
bombing (2009). This article attempts to examine
the ways in which the government responded towards
the problem. What sort of policies did the
Indonesian government take to respond to terrorism
during the 2002—2009 period? This study uses a
qualitative research method. The data used in this
research are derived from official documents, direct
interviews with government officials and the secondary
sources (books and journals) on terrorism and
counterterrorism. This article shows that the government
adopted the legal approach or law-enforcement
(“hard approach”) by issuing the anti-terrorism
law as a legal framework and by reorganizing
the police force to strengthen its counter-terrorist
capability. It also adopted an “ideological” approach
(soft approach) to battle religious extremism. This
sort of approach is mainly aimed at defusing and
neutralizing the religious extremism of terrorist groups
and preventing it from spreading into the wider community.
This article shows that the government has
used effectively both approaches in destroying problem
of terrorism in Indonesia.
Key Words: Indonesia, policy, terrorism,
counterterrorism, legal approach, “ideological”
approach.