One president�s remarkable response to terrorism

“The people do not need to be afraid,” Indonesia’s Joko Widodo said.
On Thursday, militants affiliated with ISIS set off a series of explosions in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, killing at least two civilians. The country’s president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, responded in a remarkable way. On Friday, as the authorities heightened security and anti-terror forces conducted raids, Jokowi visited the site of the attack and approvingly noted that things had returned to “normal.”
What makes these statements notable is subtle, and in part a function of omission. First, notice the subdued yet serious way Jokowi describes the impact of the attacks: They disrupted public security. They disturbed the peace. The government’s response is characterized as a policing matter. He stresses that Indonesians shouldn’t be spooked and that the situation is under control. He focuses on counteracting the primary goal of terrorism—to terrorize the broader population, to mess with people’s heads. “The people,” he says, “should not be defeated.” (A “We Are Not Afraid” hashtag cropped up on Indonesian Twitter in the hours after the attack.)
Then there’s what Jokowi omits: He does not declare that Indonesia is at war with the Islamic State, radical Islam, or terrorism. He does not suggest the future of Indonesia is at stake. He does not sound alarms.
Compare Jokowi’s response to Francois Hollande’s reaction to ISIS’s attacks in Paris last year. Three days after the rampage, the French president stood before Parliament and proclaimed that “France is at war.” He made several of the same points Jokowi did, urging calm and expressing confidence in the capacity of the French government and people to prevail against the perpetrators. But in calling for escalated air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, an extended state of emergency in France, and an expanded national-security apparatus, he framed the fight in far more epic and dire terms than his Indonesian counterpart did on Linger on Hollande’s words, and they become less reassuring than they first appear: France must destroy terrorism and its otherworldly practitioners, he seems to be saying, because otherwise terrorism could destroy the Republic and endanger the world.
It’s worth emphasizing that these two sets of statements occurred under distinct circumstances: The violence in Paris killed 130 civilians; the violence in Jakarta two. France was only months removed from the jihadist attack against Charlie Hebdo; Indonesia hadn’t experienced a major terrorist attack since 2009. France is a member of the U.S.-led military coalition against ISIS; Indonesia isn’t. In France, 18 people per million Muslim citizens are thought to be fighting in Syria and Iraq. In Indonesia, that number is estimated to be just over one. And so on.
But Indonesia arguably has as much to fear from such a terrorist attack as France does, if not more. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, and ISIS is aggressively trying to recruit supporters there. As my colleague Edward Delman has noted, Indonesia also has a long and painful history of jihadist activity, stretching from Darul Islam’s declaration of an “Islamic state” in 1949 to Jemaah Islamiyah’s devastating bombings in Bali in 2002, and beyond. One of the country’s most prominent Islamic militants has pledged loyalty to ISIS.     -The Atlantic

One president�s remarkable response to terrorism

The people do not need to be afraid, Indonesias Joko Widodo said. On Thursday, militants affiliated with ISIS set off a series of explosions in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, killing at least two civilians. The countrys president, Joko Jokowi Widodo, responded in a remarkable way. On Friday, as the authorities heightened security and anti-terror forces conducted raids, Jokowi visited the site of the attack and approvingly noted that things had returned to normal. What makes these statements notable is subtle, and in part a function of omission. First, notice the subdued yet serious way Jokowi describes the impact of the attacks: They disrupted public security. They disturbed the peace. The governments response is characterized as a policing matter. He stresses that Indonesians shouldnt be spooked and that the situation is under control. He focuses on counteracting the primary goal of terrorismto terrorize the broader population, to mess with peoples heads. The people, he says, should not be defeated. (A We Are Not Afraid hashtag cropped up on Indonesian Twitter in the hours after the attack.) Then theres what Jokowi omits: He does not declare that Indonesia is at war with the Islamic State, radical Islam, or terrorism. He does not suggest the future of Indonesia is at stake. He does not sound alarms. Compare Jokowis response to Francois Hollandes reaction to ISISs attacks in Paris last year. Three days after the rampage, the French president stood before Parliament and proclaimed that France is at war. He made several of the same points Jokowi did, urging calm and expressing confidence in the capacity of the French government and people to prevail against the perpetrators. But in calling for escalated air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, an extended state of emergency in France, and an expanded national-security apparatus, he framed the fight in far more epic and dire terms than his Indonesian counterpart did on Linger on Hollandes words, and they become less reassuring than they first appear: France must destroy terrorism and its otherworldly practitioners, he seems to be saying, because otherwise terrorism could destroy the Republic and endanger the world. Its worth emphasizing that these two sets of statements occurred under distinct circumstances: The violence in Paris killed 130 civilians; the violence in Jakarta two. France was only months removed from the jihadist attack against Charlie Hebdo; Indonesia hadnt experienced a major terrorist attack since 2009. France is a member of the U.S.-led military coalition against ISIS; Indonesia isnt. In France, 18 people per million Muslim citizens are thought to be fighting in Syria and Iraq. In Indonesia, that number is estimated to be just over one. And so on. But Indonesia arguably has as much to fear from such a terrorist attack as France does, if not more. Indonesia has the worlds largest Muslim population, and ISIS is aggressively trying to recruit supporters there. As my colleague Edward Delman has noted, Indonesia also has a long and painful history of jihadist activity, stretching from Darul Islams declaration of an Islamic state in 1949 to Jemaah Islamiyahs devastating bombings in Bali in 2002, and beyond. One of the countrys most prominent Islamic militants has pledged loyalty to ISIS. -The Atlantic