TT now a model for anti-terrorism

THIS country has gone from one that was considered to have one of the highest recruitment rates per capita in the Western Hemisphere for the ISIS terrorist group, to a model for building strong communities in the fight against extremism.

This is the view of Ifran Saeed, Director for the Office of Countering Violent Extremism in the Bureau of Counter-terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism of the US Department of State, while speaking at the “SafecommuniTT” symposium last week.

At the symposium at the Banquet and Conference Centre in Fiesta Plaza, Movietowne, Saeed said the country is now a model in the fight against extremism because government, civil, academic and religious groups all came together to try to understand the issue of extremist recruiting and respond to it.

Per capita, more citizens from TT have travelled to the Middle East to join ISIS than any other country in the Western Hemisphere. Reports have determined that more than 100 left to join the terrorist group. About 70 of those people were men who intended to fight and die for ISIS, while the rest were women and children.

Although ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq have since fallen and foreign terrorist fighter recruitment has diminished, continuing radicalisation and the threat of the return of recruitment remains a top priority to both the United States and TT.

Recognising this, both governments developed the “SafecommuniTT” network which comprised over 100 key influencers and credible messengers from various walks of life who have been trained in methods of countering violent terrorism.

The US Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Dexter Payne emphasised that the fight against violent extremism must be a concern for all citizens, because there is no one profile for radicalisation and there is no one reason that could drive people toward extremist mobilisation. He added that there is no single solution to the terrorist threat.