Chair’s Summary: Malang Call for Tolerance and Peace

Chair’s Summary

Malang Call for Tolerance and Peace

Representatives and participants of Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) concluded the expert group meeting on “Strengthening MIKTA’s Partnership: Interfaith-Intercultural Dialogues and Combatting Terrorism” held in Malang, East Java, Indonesia on 17-19 October 2018.

Discussions were held in frank and open manner on issues related to managing cultural and religious diversity, addressing the challenges of peace, radicalism and increasing intolerance. Furthermore, representatives and participants deliberated on  new threats of foreign terrorist fighters, returnees and relocators as well as issues relating to deradicalization, reintegration of former terrorists and prevention of violence, extremism and terrorism.

Key messages

In strengthening the MIKTA partnership, experts identified pertinent issues and to call for tolerance and peace, through the following:

Continue the efforts in collaborating and promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogues to enhance peace, social stability and respect for diversity, and to create an environment conducive to tolerance, peace and mutual understanding at all levels of society.

Education is considered as one of the key measures in countering violent extremism (CVE). Youth should be involved in CVE through interfaith and intercultural activities.

Producing counter-narratives is essential to combatting the spread of intolerant messages, especially in social media. People’s digital media literacy should be improved to reduce the effect of one-sided media framing.

All relevant stakeholders in particular government, policymakers, civil society organizations, media and educators working on interfaith and intercultural dialogue should actively collaborate to address the conducive condition and process of radicalization (push and pull factors) of violent extremism that leads to terrorism caused by multiple factors such as economic, political and social injustices.

Emphasize that terrorism and violent extremism should not be associated with any religion or nationality. And encourage efforts to enable voices of moderation to work together in order to build a more secure, inclusive and peaceful world.

MIKTA forums and other relevant international cooperation should promote sharing and exchanging of information, methodology, policies and academic research in CVE, including foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) movement and its network, as well as efforts of de-radicalization, rehabilitation and social-reintegration.

Calls on the MIKTA members to establish, where possible, national action plans to prevent/counter violent extremism with a focus to preventive measures through whole of government agencies and society-based approach, and preventing terrorism financing.

The Government of Indonesia wishes to invite MIKTA countries to participate in the International Interfaith Youth Camp in Indonesia 2019. The Youth Camp in Indonesia will enable younger generation from MIKTA to understand and respect difference of faith and culture among countries, thus nurture friendship, tolerance and peace.

To complement the program, representatives of MIKTA visited various religious sites and houses of worship in Malang and the surrounding areas. The site visit highlighted the importance of harmony and mutual understanding among social and religious groups in society.

MIKTA’s representatives also expressed their solidarity and condolence to the loss of lives and victim of families caused by the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Palu City, Donggola and Sigi regencies in Central Sulawesi. Representatives also expressed their gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia as host and initiator for the expert group meeting on interfaith and intercultural dialogues and prevention of violence, extremism and terrorism.

Malang, 18 October 2018