Jakarta (ANTARA) – Some 34 inmates convicted of terrorism-related charges and detained at the Gunung Sindur Prison, Bogor, West Java, have declared their allegiance to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
“I pledge my allegiance to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and promise to protect the Indonesian homeland from acts of terrorism that may disintegrate the national unity,” the terrorism inmates, led by Ahmad Fauzan Al-Anshori, who recited the oath, stated in a ceremony broadcast live from the Directorate General of Correctional Facilities’ YouTube account viewed from Jakarta on Tuesday.
Al-Anshori, as representative of the inmates, recited the oath first and was then followed by other inmates repeating the sentences that he had spoken. A Muslim clergy, with the Quran in his hand, hovered it above the inmates standing in rows during the pledging ceremony.
By pledging their allegiance to Indonesia, the terror convicts declared that they have renounced any allegiance, or bay’ah, with radical and terrorist leaders they have made in the past.
“I regret my past mistakes, and I commit to not joining again any terrorist organizations. I also denounce terrorism acts anywhere in the world,” Al-Anshori stated while pledging his allegiance.
All inmates also assured that the oath was made voluntarily in full conscience, and they received no duress from any parties compelling them to declare the oath.
“We declared our loyalty to Indonesia because we have realized that the core tenets of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution are not contradicting Islamic values that we believed,” he stated.
After completing their oath, the inmates then saluted the national flag before approaching and kissing the flag to symbolize the return of their loyalty to Indonesia.
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