Diplomats discuss terrorism in S. Africa gathering

Called "Understanding and Countering Extremism and Terrorism in Africa and the Middle East", the symposium brought together a host of Arab and Africa diplomats along with scholars and researchers

By Hassan Isilow
Thursday, December 11, 2014

advertisements

PRETORIA – An Iraqi diplomat said on Thursday that terrorism continued to pose a serious threat to international peace and security.

"Recent terrorist attacks across the world remind us that this threat is ever present," Iraq's ambassador in South Africa, Hisham al-Alawi, said.

"In Iraq, we have been through a lot of war, but I haven’t seen the level of destruction as in Syria," he added during a symposium held in Pretoria on terrorism in Africa and the Middle East region.

Called "Understanding and Countering Extremism and Terrorism in Africa and the Middle East", the symposium brought together a host of Arab and Africa diplomats along with scholars and researchers.

Al-Alawi, whose country has been plagued by the scourge of terrorism for years now, lambasted terrorist organizations committing acts of terror in the name of the Islamic religion.

He said Islam preached tolerance, not violence.

The Iraqi diplomat said the extent of destruction caused by militants fighting in Syria was "phenomenal."

He said a large number of foreign fighters were joining the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a terrorist organization that had overrun vast territories in both Iraq and Syria, thanks to the organization's "robust media."

"However, with support from the international community, we will defeat ISIL," al-Alawi said.

Algeria's ambassador to South Africa, Nasser Abdel-Nacer Belaid, meanwhile, lashed out at some people who paid ransoms to terrorist groups.

He said these ransoms provided these groups with a source of funding.

"They [the terrorist groups] use the ransom money to buy arms, and recruit new members," Belaid said.

He said Algeria had called on the African Union to "criminalize" the payment of ransoms for terrorist organizations, describing this payment of ransoms as a "major threat" to the fight against terrorism.

"Algeria continues to play a great role in fighting terrorism through sharing intelligence information with other countries," the ambassador said. "A threat of terrorism is a threat to all countries," he added.

Al-Shabaab

Somalia's Charge d’ Affairs in Pretoria, Mohamed Ali Mire, said the Qaeda-linked movement Al-Shabaab had spent a lot of money on propaganda aimed at encouraging young people to it.

"Al-shabaab has huge financial resources that can cover their military operations (at operational as well as at medium-term levels)," Mire said.

He added that some of the funding came from taxes the group imposed in areas it controlled and money it received from sympathizers.

Mire added that Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting against the government of Mogadishu for control in several Somali towns for several years now, had between 6,000 and 8,000 well-trained members who came from Somalia as well as other countries.

Apart from spending money on propaganda, Mire said, Al-shabaab spent money on military equipment, such as road bombs, guns, mobile phones and electronic devices.

He said Somalis living outside their country were also discriminated against and stereotyped because of Al-Shabaab.

A terrorism expert, meanwhile, said what he called "militarized states" could not continue to terrorize their citizens and not expect armed reaction.

"However, engaging in terrorist activities does not assist in solving the legitimate claims that communities have," Muhamed-Nur Nordien, a political consultant attending the symposium, told The Anadolu Agency.

He added that due to the global political regime, there were no real alternatives when people were faced with state brutality.

"The issue is then how does one identify a 'true cause'?," Nordien asked. "Therefore, there has to be a relook at the global distribution of political power," he added.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online