Countering terrorism requires unified and coordinated strategies on local, regional and international levels as well as the role of parliamentarians, announced Egypt’s Speaker Ali Abdel Aal.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU-UN regional conference for the Middle East and North Africa, Abdel Aal stressed that terrorism can't be defeated through security and military weapons only, but through combating terrorist ideology.
The Speaker indicated fighting terrorism means that there is a differentiation between disseminating the extremist ideology and committing terrorist acts.
In his speech, Abdel Aal asserted that extremist ideology and acts of terrorism are linked, stressing that in reality, the two are intertwined, and it is illogical to criminalize the terrorist act and turn a blind eye to the instigator.
The speaker stressed that countering terrorism calls for unified and coordinated strategies, including working to refute its rhetoric and strengthening the values of democracy.
He pointed to correcting religious discourse so as to strengthen values of religious tolerance and deepen values of common coexistence and respect of others.
Abdelal stressed the need to take a unified international stance towards terrorist organizations without any discrimination.
Despite different names of terrorist organizations or their strategic objectives in each country, they are all an integrated network of mutual interests that support each other by all means, noted Abed Aal.
"There is no doubt that any country that allows the use of its media and political platforms to promote these extremist ideologies is mainly contributing to the spread of the threat of terrorism," warned the Speaker.
He also addressed the issue of foreign fighters which is one of the serious threats associated with the ongoing conflicts in a number of countries in the region, primarily Syria. He indicated that those fighters became a key player in the conflict because they now have combat experience and training on the use of weapons.
Despite ISIS defeats in Iraq and Syria, loss of many of its bases, and the return of some major blocs of foreign fighters to their home countries, the situation is still dangerous in light of fears of their involvement in terrorist organizations in their home countries after their return, he explained.
He also warned that returnees could form sleeper cells that can be activated when needed, as well as their role in recruiting other fighters and forming new terrorist cells.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU-UN regional conference for the Middle East and North Africa is held in Cairo in collaboration with Egypt’s House of Representatives and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. This cooperation came under the efforts of the IPU High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism.
The IPU-UN conference 120 Arab parliamentarians, is being held in Luxor from Monday, February 25 until Thursday, February 28. Several sessions will be held to discuss the means of standing against regional terrorism.
