REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A senior security minister said here on Thursday that 53 Indonesian citizens who earlier supported ISIS have returned to the country.

Wiranto, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs, said the government would adopt a soft approach towards them to convince them to shun their radical ideology and thus wean them away from terrorism. "(We will take) a soft approach and deal with them humanely to make them return to the right path," he stressed.

The minister appealed to the community members to remain alert about the threats of radicalism and terrorism lest they are influenced by the wrong sort of ideology. "I can only advise 'let us be alert'," he reiterated.

He assured that the National Agency for Counter-Terrorism (BNPT) would certainly not stay idle in the context of these ISIS supporters who have returned. "They would certainly not ignore them. So far as I know, the BNPT has already done what it had to do," he noted.

Wiranto pointed out that he was not in a position to reveal in detail as to how such cases are handled. "With regard to cases like terrorism, I certainly cannot tell in detail about them to you or other people," he underscored.

He hoped that the ISIS supporters would return to pursue their normal livelihood and stay away from radicalism. "The Indonesian government has adopted a humane approach by asking them to return to their normal lives. We are trying to re-educate them since they have been brainwashed by terrorism supporters in Syria and those with the ISIS.

It seems some may be later considered as falling in a category from where it becomes possible to bring them back as members of the community. For those who are found to be diehard leaders, certainly they will need special treatment," he concluded.

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