IACP calls for increased cooperation to curb terrorism

New Delhi, Sep 16 (UNI) Countries of the Asia Pacific region today reaffirmed IACP's commitment towards enhancing international cooperation, communication and exchange of critical information to curb the increasing incidence of terrorism in the region.

Addressing the two-day Asia Pacific Regional Seminar on Terrorism that concluded this evening, IACP President Ronald Ruecker said that the recent terror strikes in several parts of the world had clearly demonstrated the need for law enforcement agencies throughout the world to establish effective intelligence sharing mechanisms and working relationships with one another.

Poverty, unemployment, madrasa education and radicalisation were some of the factors fuelling the growth of terrorism in Afghanistan, pointed out Haroun Mir, Co-Founder and Deputy Director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies. He felt that drug money and charities received from the Middle East and the Gulf are contributing significantly to terrorism in the region.

Mr Mir also called upon Pakistan to take effective measures on the Pak-Afghan border to curb radicalisation and growing terrorist activities. His prescriptions for containing terrorism in the region included economic development, promotion of democratic values, strengthening of civil society and international cooperation.

Mr Frederic Grare of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussed terrorism related issues in South Asia and its neighbourhood. He said that the South/South East Asian region has the highest concentration of jehadi terrorist groups in the world.

Elaborating on the gradual politicisation of terrorism, he alluded to the use of terror as an instrument to either pursue foreign policy goals or further domestic political interests. In this context, he said that Pakistan has been both a major actor in terrorism as also a victim of this menace.

Thomas Michael Sanderson, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow in the Center for Strategic and International Studies Trans-national Threats Project, presented an overview on extremism, insurgency and radicalisation in South East Asia with special focus on Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Dilating on the social, religious, economic and political causes of extremism, he suggested de-radicalisation and demobilisation as effective tools for tackling terrorism. He pointed out that the Thai Muslim youth were adopting jehadi rhetoric from Indonesia. Mr Sanderson also focused on the efforts of Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia to consolidate its support base in order to reengage in jehad.

UNI AJ LS KN1955