måndag 14 oktober 2013

Mitt inlägg i Europarådet


Mr / Mrs President

Should Europe criminalize jihad trips? The Council of Europe’s member states act with different strategies and some do not have any strategy at all. Radicalization of young people may result in them becoming terrorists. This is a situation that cannot be entirely dealt with by the security service. But the situation also requires a broader perspective and requires preventive work. 
 
What will young people meet when they leave their homes to go on jihad trips? Some may lose their lives, others will become murderers. 
 
A British study found that 60 percent of terrorist crimes and terrorist plans directed against European targets can be linked to returned jihadists. In Germany there are programs for defectors.

Mr Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, has said:

 "To me it's basically the same thing:  Extremism is extremism, whatever the purpose may be. Extremists are people who believe they have the right to expose other people to suffering, death and pain and do not respect the democratic rules of the game". In Sweden the debate is however sadly apologetic; public funds finance activities and invitations that should be enough to get government to respond.

Should al -Shabaab be defined as terrorists? According to me they should.

Recruitment from European countries continues. Over five hundred men from Europe have traveled to Syria to fight with al-Nusra, a radical Islamist group linked to al- Qaeda. Jihadists often recruited through the internet. Youtube clips in different languages encourages young ​​Europeans to give their lives in jihad.

European jihadists are a threat in many ways: In Syria the jihadists disrupt the popular uprising against the dictator Bashar al-Assad. The al-Nusras goal is not democracy but to create a sharia state, which contributes to an even more disrupted surrounding world.

According to Amnesty International the al-Nusras, as well as the regime, have committed serious abuses against civilians. 

In Europe, the widows of perished jihadists and jihadists “veterans” play an important role when it comes to recruiting new jihadists: Among Islamists in Europe these widows and jihadist “veterans” are perceived war heroes, which is helpful in the recruitment of new jihadists.

When the jihadists return to their home countries they constitute a serious threat. The risk that they will commit terrorist crimes in their home country increase.
 

As a consequence of the globalized terrorism, the position of the Council of Europe may be of globalized character as well.