Radicalism main issue in terror forum

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish FM Davutoğlu hosts his counterparts for an anti-terror forum. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

World powers will seek ways to eliminate radicalism as the main root source of terrorism when the 29-member Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) gathers today in Istanbul, according to participants.

The forum will be convened under the co-chairmanship of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and will include the participation of 15 foreign ministers.

According to diplomatic sources speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, the forum will produce two papers, one on the rule of law and criminal justice and the other on radicalization and violence.
With the evolution of anti-terror strategies, greater importance has been attached to the fight against the roots of terrorism, and the eradication of radicalization stands as the key pillar of this strategy, according to sources. In many countries, radicalism and extremist ideologies have been observed to spread from prisons, causing difficulties for governments that have few assets to fight such a phenomenon. Some prisoners become militant while in jail before becoming “dangerous terrorists” once released, according to sources.

Another project to be announced is the establishment of a global center for countering terror and violent extremism in Abu Dhabi that will provide a platform for training government officials, nongovernmental organizations and community leaders to minimize the number of recruits to terrorist organizations, undermine radical ideologies and prevent attacks.

Arab Spring and its effects on terror

The forum will also debate the possible effects of the Arab Spring on eliminating terror threats. With an increased number of democratic rulers in the Middle East and North Africa, it is believed that terrorism will lose potency.

The GCTF is a new multilateral counterterrorism body co-chaired by Turkey and the United States that aims to “build the international architecture for dealing with 21st-century terrorism.”

Apart from Davutoğlu and Clinton, the foreign ministers of Italy, Giulio Terzi; Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar; Jordan, Nasser Judeh; Germany, Guido Westerwelle; Egypt, Mohamed Amr; and Saudi Arabia, Suud al-Faisal, are among the participants, as well as the EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafeek Abdessalem is expected to address the forum as a guest speaker.