July 29, 2015
A Sunni insurgent terrorist organization “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) — the group that in the course of rebranding proclaimed itself as the “Islamic State” — has appeared in the Middle East lately and gained a colossal power. In fact, it represents a new mutation of international terrorism and combines features of an organized armed group and aggressive Jihadist ideology. Over a short period of time ISIL has succeeded in establishing real control over some territories of Iraq and Syria and declare its own state in those territories. Today this international terrorist organization actively influences the world policy and undermines security in the Middle East and many other states. The increasing recruitment activity as well as internationalization of the terrorist groups, which also include citizens of the Commonwealth, have become a key security problem. The territorial claims of ISIL in CIS include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Russia’s federal subjects in the Southern, North-Caucasian and Crimean federal districts. In this regard identification of the Commonwealth citizens who have participated and continue participating in the activity of illegal armed formations abroad, including the IS, with a purpose of timely identification and suppression of their possible terrorist and extremist activity remains a burning issue of the competent authorities of the CIS states. The CIS special services consider informational counteraction the primary countermeasures to ISIL influence. The IS activists create accounts in different languages in the social media used to propagate their information, carry out propaganda and recruit new supporters. One of the solutions to this problem is to timely lock destructive content under the procedure established by law. Other preventive measures may include increased control over the entry-exit channels of the citizens departing to the areas of armed conflicts. Financial monitoring and identification of the channels of terrorist groups’ financing by so call “charity funds”, unfair NGO are among important measures. It is obvious criminalization of participation in the international terrorist organizations abroad gives its effect.
The CIS Anti-Terrorism Center has coordinated with the partners and formed a number of initiatives. Some of them have been approbated and given positive results. We a re talking about interstate search for persons who have committed terrorist crimes and are fleeing from prosecution. A regular exchange of information on location of terrorist training sites, their training methods, data on their leaders and instructors of those training centers, terrorist and extremist information resources has been established between the CIS security agencies. Channels of weapons transportation, terrorist financing and technical assistance are discovered jointly with border security control and financial intelligence units. We are proposing to place on a record, including in urgent procedure, all persons suspected of participation in terrorist organizations at all border passport control points. Our common task is to prevent terrorist activity transfer to the Commonwealth states.
As to active prevention of youth’ recruiting to the ranks of international terrorist organizations including ISIL, the CIS ATC is planning to hold a joint meeting of the heads of the largest universities in the European part of Russia, including representatives of security agencies, special services and law enforcement engaged with countering extremism and terrorism, as well as representatives of different religious denominations, civil society institutions and experts. This meeting will focus on joint elaboration of practical recommendations aimed at preventing and timely suppressing the attempts of recruiting students to participate in destructive activities of international extremist and terrorist organizations. ISIL recruiters are seeking ways to recruit in our universities, and our common goal is to stop these activities.
