Militants and survivors meet

Indonesia hopes move will be an important step in combating radicalism and fostering reconciliation.

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government is bringing together dozens of convicted militants and survivors of attacks in what it hopes will be an important step in combating radicalism and fostering reconciliation.

About 120 reformed militants will apologise to dozens of victims including survivors of the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, according to Irfan Idris, director of de-radicalisation at Indonesia’s counter-terrorism agency.

The three days of meetings at a Jakarta hotel that began yesterday aren’t open to the media except for an event on the final day.

“Many militant convicts have changed and are taking the right course with us by drawing on their experience to prevent others from taking up violence,” Irfan said.

“These facts have inspired us to reconcile them with their victims.”

Indonesia, the world’s most popu- lous Muslim nation and third-biggest democracy, has imprisoned hundreds of militants in the years since the Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreigners.

But its efforts at convincing imprisoned militants to renounce violence as a means of transforming Indonesia into an Islamic state have had mixed results. In overcrowded and understaffed prisons, militants have been able to convert other prisoners to radicalism and communicate with supporters on the outside to encourage new attacks.

At least 18 former militant prisoners have been involved in attacks in Indonesia since 2010, including a January 2016 suicide bombing and gun attack in downtown Jakarta that killed eight people, including the attackers. Febby Firmansyah Isran, who suffered burns to 45% of his body from the 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriot hotel in Jakarta, said to begin with he was so overwhelmed with anger that it worsened his health.

At the urging of his fiance, now his wife, Febby, who is attending the meetings, said he accepted what happened to him as an act of God.

“I have forgiven them and it has even improved my recovery process and calmed me down,” said Febby, who founded a support group for bombing victims.