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Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis Volume 5, Issue 4 April 2013 Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis Volume 5, Issue 4 April 2013 Terrorist Rehabilitation and Community Engagement: New Frontiers in Combating Terrorism ROHAN GUNARATNA Reconciliation in Afghanistan: The Pakistani Factor HALIMULLAH KOUSARY Bangladesh in the Run-up to Elections: Walking a Tightrope? IFTEKHARUL BASHAR Peace Talks with the Pakistani Taliban: Challenges and Prospects ARSHAD ALI The Expansion of Sectarian Conflict in Pakistan ABDUL BASIT Drifting Apart? Indo-Lanka Relations Examined MANOJ HARJANI INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM RESEARCH S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES A Graduate School of Nanyang Technological University 2 Terrorist Rehabilitation and Community Engagement: New Frontiers in Combating Terrorism Rohan Gunaratna There is now a greater awareness among governments of the need to invest in creating new terrorist rehabilitation and community engagement programs and in sustaining existing ones. With support from governments, NGOs, community organizations, and the private and academic sectors, terrorist rehabilitation and community engagement programs are likely to double worldwide in the coming decade. The Context of circumstances. Contemporary terrorist groups are adept at harnessing modern communication Most governments continue to fight terrorism platforms to reach out beyond their existing using a “hard” approach involving kinetic and supporters and sympathizers. Enabled by the lethal methods. They use intelligence to detect internet and social media, they not only engage terrorist attacks during planning and preparation, people within the countries they operate in, but law enforcement to investigate and charge also diaspora and migrant communities abroad. terrorists at home, and the military to combat Both terrorist and government activities – terrorism abroad. While the “hard” approach may especially inappropriate responses by be effective, it is not the most efficient approach governments to terrorist events – generate to take. It help governments fight operational sympathy and support for terrorism by polarizing terrorism in the short term, but cannot stem the communities ethnically and religiously. tide of ideological extremism, the precursor of terrorism. The polarization of communities increases their vulnerability to terrorist propaganda, often leading This is because individuals can become to the steady development of mistrust, suspicion radicalized by extremist ideology even in the best and prejudice between them. To prevent terrorist Detainees in Libya undergoing a rehabilitation programme, 2010. Photo credit: ICPVTR Libya Study Visit Team. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis, Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2013. Terrorist Rehabilitation and Community Engagement 3 propaganda from radicalizing vulnerable prevention, so that individuals will not embrace communities, governments must therefore invest extremist ideologies that transform them into in community engagement, taking care to focus terrorists; second, rehabilitation for terrorists, and on the very communities that terrorists claim to third, examination of issues exploited by represent. Working together with a range of terrorists so that they can be addressed and the organizations, governments can create platforms terrorist groups’ membership and support base both to counter extremist ideology and promote can be eroded. Governments will also need to moderation. involve the private sector so that programs will have the means to create job opportunities for Furthermore, the criminal justice and prisons rehabilitated inmates and detainees ready for systems in most countries are designed for reintegration back to society. The participation of deterrence and punishment, not prevention and various segments of society would make citizens rehabilitation. Terrorists detained using the “hard” into stakeholders and governments can share the approach can become more radicalized in prison burden of security with those who benefit from it. and use the opportunity to radicalize other prisoners. In this way, the “hard” approach Current Developments undermines itself because prisons then become a breeding ground for new recruits when Terrorist rehabilitation and community hardcore extremists are detained and not engagement are emerging as indispensable tools managed properly by prison authorities. in contemporary counterterrorism practice. Working together with military, law enforcement Detained terrorists have also shown their and intelligence services, governments in several resourcefulness while in prison by writing books countries have built rehabilitation and community and leaflets, cementing their place in terrorist engagement programs that have also involved iconography to earn the status of a hero worthy community partners, NGOs, and the private and of respect and emulation by the next generation the academic sectors. of terrorist recruits. Unless terrorists in custody change their views, they will continue to pose an Rehabilitation programs in Egypt, Algeria, Libya enduring threat to public safety and security both and Yemen are now defunct, and the programs in whilst being in custody and once released. There Iraq, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Spain and Indonesia is thus an urgent need for proper prison are ad-hoc. Structured programs are present in management to prevent ordinary criminals from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and being radicalized and for the implementation of Singapore. There is a need for ad-hoc programs custodial rehabilitation to de-radicalize detainees. to evolve into structured programs and for Custodial rehabilitation must also be followed by structured programs to be sustained in the long community rehabilitation initiatives, where it is term. Some of the more crucial challenges faced paramount for engagement programs to prepare by current rehabilitation programs include the ground for successful reintegration of the monitoring recidivism, managing the transition for rehabilitated beneficiary. detainees ready to be reintegrated back into society, and staying on top of the ever-changing But for this “soft” approach involving terrorist terrorist narratives to counter them effectively rehabilitation and community engagement to be when attempting to de-radicalize detainees. successful, it has to be multifaceted, facilitated by a long term public-private partnership, and led by Community engagement programs have creative and innovative individuals. Investment emerged in varied forms and with different areas must be focused in three key areas. First, of focus. This diversity has proven above all that Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis, Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2013. Terrorist Rehabilitation and Community Engagement 4 Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Le e Hsien Loo n g, addressing delegates of the International Conference on Terrorist Rehabilitation and Community Resilience held in Singapore from 26-27 March 2013. Photo credit: ICRR Media Team there is no easily identified common approach challenges rehabilitation and community and that every country looking to formulate a engagement programs will face going forward. community engagement program must develop its own path aided by the best practices identified The partnership between RSIS and RRG which in other programs. Political will to bring began when the latter was formed in April 2003 stakeholders together and provide coordination to can serve as a model for other countries to build community engagement efforts has been a key on. Encompassing collaboration in research and challenge facing many countries. However, there publication and building of networks both within are encouraging signs with initiatives being made and outside Singapore, the RSIS-RRG by countries with functioning engagement partnership has been able to make a significant programs to share their experiences and contribution to the realm of counter-ideology and cooperate with other countries on seeding new promotion of moderation. programs where they are most needed. In the coming decade, governments and their In fact, a call to establish rehabilitation and partners should look to dismantle the conceptual community engagement programs worldwide infrastructure of terrorists in parallel with their received overwhelming support at the two-day work towards reducing the immediate threat International Conference on Terrorist stemming from terrorists’ operational Rehabilitation and Community Resilience (ICRR) infrastructure. Such an effort will require a in Singapore on 26-27 March 2013. Organized by concerted strategy at both the community level the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and in detainee and prison settings. It will involve (RSIS) and Religious Rehabilitation Group diverse partnerships creating robust community (RRG), the conference was inaugurated by the engagement programs to counter extremist Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien ideology upstream and rehabilitation programs to Loong. Around 500 delegates from 24 countries de-radicalize terrorists and extremists participated, including both practitioners and downstream. scholars. The conference marked a decade of —— RRG’s success in providing religious counseling Rohan Gunaratna is Head, ICPVTR for Singapore’s Jemaah Islamiyah detainees and and Professor of Security Studies at featured panels that looked at where global the S. Rajaratnam School of International counterterrorism efforts stood today and the Studies. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis, Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2013.
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