BNPT Expert: Counter-Terrorism Of Society In Cyberspace Is Needed

JAKARTA - The Expert Group of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) assesses that all levels of society need to participate in counter-narratively any content that smells of intolerance, radicalism, and terrorism in cyberspace.

Member of the BNPT Expert Group for International Cooperation, Darmansjah Djumala, said that efforts to counter terrorism, including propaganda on the understanding of intolerance, violence, and extremism in cyberspace, were not only the tasks of 48 ministries/agencies involved by BNPT in the national action plan to prevent and overcome extremism and terrorism.

"Articipation to counter-narrative can be done in a simple way, for example if on Whatsapp Group or other social media there are those who narrate intolerant and radical attitudes, never hesitate to conduct counter-narratives based on knowledge and facts," said Djumala as quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, June 30.

In a country with Pancasila ideology in the form of the Republic of Indonesia, he said, an attitude of respecting differences, diversity, tolerance, and religious moderation is a guide for people's ethics and morals so that Indonesia remains intact as a nation.

Djumala appreciated the initiative of the Head of BNPT Komjen Pol. Mohammed Rycko Amelza Dahniel, which involved 48 ministries/agencies in the implementation of the national action plan to prevent and overcome violent-based extremism that led to terrorism.

The issue of terrorism, he continued, actually does not stand alone exclusively as a security issue because it has a multidimensional face, so terrorism is the estuary of the accumulation of behavior that deviates from the standard of civilized life.

In a pluralistic country, he emphasized that respecting differences and diversity is absolutely necessary.

The ability to respect and celebrate differences, according to him, is manifested in an attitude of tolerance in the life of religion, nation and state.

Without awareness and devotion to differences, Djumala said someone would be intolerant, which is the upstream of all upstream radicalism, which eventually leads to acts of terrorism.

Previously, the Head of BNPT explained three strategies to prevent and eradicate terrorism in cyberspace in a joint working meeting with Commission III of the DPR, Thursday, June 27.

The three strategies include pre-emptive strike measures by conducting cyber patrols, lowering content (take down), and counter-narrative against content containing intolerance, radicalism, extremism, and terrorism that has not been read or accessed by residents.

Then preventive strike steps by conducting cyber patrols, decreasing content, and contranarcing, which are also accompanied by efforts to massively socialize to vulnerable groups, women, children, and adolescents if the content has begun to be read and affects people's way of thinking.

Then restorative strike action, namely by training by law enforcement and the deradicalization process if the content has influenced residents' attitudes and actions.