TIRANA, Sept. 14 – Albania and other Western Balkans countries are facing new threats relating to religious extremism, and the United States and the European Union will help Tirana and the rest of the region address these threats, officials told a conference in Durres this week.
The conference on “Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Irregular Migration Routes: Prevention and Resilience” was held in Durres earlier this week, organised by PfP Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes, Prime Minister’s Office and OSCE Albania.
U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu told participants Albania has made significant progress in reducing the flow of terrorist fighters transiting in the country.
Earlier this year Albania convicted nine persons for a total of 152 years for recruitment and participation in terrorist organizations.
According to the Albanian Institute for International Studies, Albania has also reduced the flow of extremist fighters from its soil from over 90 in 2013 and 2014 to zero during the last two years.
“This is an incredible accomplishment without parallel in the Western Balkans,” Ambassador Lu said during the conference.
According to the U.S. diplomat, Western Balkan countries have been successful in arresting and prosecuting foreign terrorist fighters.
“In the region there have been 93 guilty verdicts with another 35 individuals currently on trial. Bosnia has found 12 people guilty with eight now on trial. Kosovo has indicted 75 persons and has obtained guilty verdicts in over 50 cases. Macedonia has now 18 guilty dispositions for foreign fighter related charges,” he said during the conference.
Ambassador Lu announced that the United States is supporting the leadership of the OSCE, the Office of the Prime Minister and Secret Services in preventing the emerging threat of foreign fighters crossing the country and in the region.
In addition, the U.S Ambassador highlighted the importance of improving border protection and exchange of information. He recalled the importance of Albania’s collaboration with FBI in accessing the terrorism database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, based on an agreement signed during Prime Minister Rama’s visit to Washington in April.
This means that “Albanian Border Police can access a list of thousands of potential terrorists that has been compiled with the cooperation of dozens of partner countries,” Ambassador Lu said, urging countries to work together and face these threats.
Head of the EU Delegation to Albania Romana Vlahutin echoed Lu’s calls for collaboration and underlined the importance of a “comprehensive response which addresses the new century challenges from several flanks simultaneously, especially on the issues of foreign terrorist fighters and irregular migration, matters which constitute a major concern for all.”
According to her, authorities must have a clear view on how terrorists were able to attract young people all over Balkans to Syria and invest more in informing people about the risks of radicalization.
Ambassador Vlahutin said that EU has a 70 million Euros program in place to support efforts against violent extremism and is also eyeing the possibility of setting up a special Regional Office in Albania.
She said that EU will provide support to community groups and local governments to address the risk of violent extremism.
“I am particularly proud that the EU is investing in the country in supporting grassroot NGO activity in this area and EU programs being implemented in the Western Balkans relevant to Counter-Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism amount to 16.5 million Euros,” she added.
The conference was also attended by Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Niko Peleshi who in his remarks underlined the importance of a multi-party intervention against violent extremism.
He explained that Albania is implementing a pilot project in schools to inform students about religion and prepare them to face the extremist pressures.
“We believe that secularism in schools must not be perceived as silent taboo towards religious matters. We must apply a cultural and civil approach without duplicating religious communities and by strongly cooperating with them,” Peleshi told interlocutors.
According to a report by Albanian Institute of International Studies, a Tirana Times partner organization, the number of fighters from Albania joining ISIS in Syria and Iraq peaked in 2014, when between 90 and 150 people departed from Albania, 31 of whom were children and 13 women. Data shows that the number of Albanian citizens departing to Syria from Albania in 2015 was near zero.
