Libasut Taqwa is the Research Associate at Wahid Foundation (WF), one of the leading Indonesian CSO in peace dialogue between state and civil cooperation in P/CVE. This month, SEAN-CSO sat down with Libas to talk about the journey leading to Indonesia’s NAP for PCVE, explicitly discussing the goals and challenges Wahid Foundation and fellow CSOs faced during the process. Libas and WF, alongside other Indonesian CSOs, began talks with the government in 2017 to create a national strategy on PCVE, culminating in Indonesia NAP for P/CVE in 2020.
WF, alongside 40 stakeholders, participate in formulating the NAP, which focuses not on prosecution or crimes but on mitigating and preventing violent extremism through coordination, the structure of responsibility, and cooperation. Each one has its spectrums of priorities, from the involvement of civil society and educational support to the mainstreaming of gender in P/CVE has helped to enrich the action plan. However, a variety of priorities does not mean that some actors have more involvement. Instead, it enriches the plan.
However, Libas believes that the key towards Indonesia’s NAP for P/CVE lies in the two expectations that are met and welcomed by both the central government (top-down) and civil society organisations (bottom-up) agenda. In addition, the call for NAP for P/CVE from the UN and other related international organisations also helped ease the process as the government gradually gave it the green light. Moreover, it is necessary to know that the government and CSOs have equal involvement in making an action plan, with each department working in its spectrum of priorities.
A push from high-level departments, such as the Coordinating Ministry of Politics, Law, and Security in Indonesia, is essential to bring presidential recommendations for NAP to go ahead. However, challenges are also to be found after the NAP, such as legal aspects from the Ministry of Law, international cooperation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to budgeting set by the Ministry of Finance. WF’s role is to ensure that CSOs are always involved in the P/CVE action plan. Hence it is crucial for CSOs to know the nature of bureaucracy and exploit flexibility supported by national and international campaigns through various mediums.
Libas added that in the context of Southeast Asia. It is essential to discuss NAP PCVE but not limited to closed discussions which tend to be rigid and do not involve multiple elements. The urgency of NAP PCVE must be adapted to each country’s needs and strengthen joint supervision at the regional level.
In terms of secondary and tertiary interventions of CVE on Indonesia NAP, Libas views that it brings a pathway towards unified work done by the government and CSOs previously unavailable as they work individually. NAP helps to create a knowledge hub open for the stakeholders to monitor the work progress. Libas closes by stating that for other Southeast Asian countries, NAP should not be considered a panacea for P/CVE problems, collaboration is a key, context is essential, policies must involve CSOs and include marginal issues, and be adaptive.