Indonesia decides to stay away from Saudi led 34 Muslims State anti terrorism alliance
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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo refrained from openly rejecting the idea of joining the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition of 34 countries to fight terrorism, but his chief security czar announced the government’s decision to distance itself from the anti-terrorist coalition.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Indonesia had no intention of joining the military alliance, as the government was prioritising the use of soft power in its war on terror.
“The stance of Indonesia’s government is that we want to handle the IS with a soft approach, including by promoting Islam as gracious and full of compassion, not a brutal religion like what the IS is portraying,” the retired four-star general said after accompanying the president in his meeting with Indonesian Military (TNI) generals on Dec 16.
The president said that the government did not want to follow other countries that used military force to combat radicalism and preferred using a soft approach as it was more effective. (The Jakarta Post)
