TIRANA, May 27 – The increased focus on Albanian citizens and other Albanian speakers who have joined the ranks of violent extremist groups in the Middle East is not intended to alarm Albanians but rather to increase awareness that a tiny subsection of society could threaten the country’s values, Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said Wednesday.
“This is not an Albanian phenomenon, it is regional, and it is global,” Tahiri said. Albania is not immune to violent extremism.”
He made the comments at an annual security conference organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies, which recently conducted comprehensive research on Albanian citizens who have joined foreign conflicts.
The interior minister added that authorities now know there are Albanians who are stuck in the conflict zone who want to return but cannot do so, commenting a recent media reports that showed an Albanian man had been killed by ISIS after he expressed disillusion with the cause and tried to return to Albania.
Albanian law now prohibits the country’s citizens from joining foreign conflicts and several accused recruiters are now on trial in Tirana.
Other speakers at the conference attempted to address the root causes of the problem.
U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu said that more needed to be done to connect with poor and disaffected youths who can fall prey to recruitment by violent extremists. He said authorities need to do more to improve the lives of the poorest Albanians by fighting corruption and improving economic governance.
Aldo Bumci, the deputy head of the foreign affairs commission in the Albanian parliament, said the best way to counter the misuse of religion is to strengthen Albania’s Muslim Community, the official ruling body for the religion in Albania. He urged the government to offer more funds and help provide better-trained professionals for the community.
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