World’s
security services meet to counter terrorism
(text in portuguese)
(Video)
Security services from nearly 60 countries met in the
Russian city of Irkutsk to discuss ways of strengthening
anti-terrorism cooperation and creating an effective
system of information exchange.
America’s FBI, Israel’s Mossad and Germany’s
BND were just a few of the agencies that turned up in
Irkutsk to discuss the problems of countering international
terrorism
“One of the most important techniques and methods
we have to prevent terrorist attacks is of course getting
the right intelligence, and since terrorist groups work
across borders, we have to have mechanisms which enable
countries to share intelligence,” said Mike Smith,
executive director of the UN counter-terrorism executive
directorate.
Russia has not been immune to terrorism. In the last
two months alone there has been a string of attacks
in the Caucasus region. And, of course, there was the
recent assassination attempt against the president of
the country’s southern Republic of Ingushetia.
“Combating terrorism on one's own is possible
but very difficult, especially when we are talking about
mercenaries, terrorists who migrate all over the world,”
said Aleksandr Bortnikov, director of Russia’s
Federal Security Service. “There are foreign mercenaries
in the territory of North Caucasus. Of course, having
comprehensive intelligence is only possible when there
is exchange of information among partners involved.”
The idea for this unusual annual gathering was first
raised by the Russian Federal Security Agency eight
years ago, and Russia has hosted the annual event ever
since.
This time, several new members decided to join the club.
Among them are India, still reeling after the attacks
in Mumbai, and Brazil, which decided not to wait for
terrorists to knock on its door.
“Although Brazil does not suffer from terror acts,
we want to express full solidarity with countries that
have been hit by terrorists,” said Wilson Roberto
Trezza, head of Brazil’s intelligence agency.
“Brazil wants to help fight terrorism on the regional
and international levels.”
The security services attending this year’s meeting
noted that they have managed to move beyond words, and
have established joint anti-terrorism programs. Two
of the most important examples are the creation of a
single international database on terrorist organizations
and the adoption of an agreement on conducting joint
operations.
The latest developments show that terrorism remains
the top international security problem, and such annual
meetings are a unique opportunity for the security services
to synchronize their efforts.
Participants said that previous meetings helped prevent
more terrorist acts from being committed, and that is
now vital to broaden cooperation on counter-terrorism
even further.
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