Podgorica, (MINA) – Radicalization leading to violent extremism is one of the greatest global security threats of which Montenegro is not spared, Minister of Interior Mevludin Nuhodzic has stated, adding that systemic efforts at preventing and suppressing such threats are required.
The Interior Ministry and the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), in cooperation with the OSCE, presented on Friday the National Platform for Combating Violent Extremism, under the slogan ‘Together against Violent Extremism’.
Minister Nuhodzic underlined that the fight against radicalization and violent extremism that leads to terrorism requires cooperation at all levels and systemic coordination.
“We haven’t recorded any foreign fighters from Montenegro since 2016, but there is no absolute certainty,” Nuhodzic said.
According to him, the national platform is designed to ensure better understanding of the importance of combating violent extremism and radicalization and to explain the ways in which different segments of the society can contribute to this campaign.
“The objective is clear – encouraging citizens to be critical towards extremist messages and content on the Internet, as well as building resilience of the whole society to terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism,” Nuhodzic concluded.
CDT Director Dragan Koprivica believes that the society needs to develop mechanisms for timely response to such threats.
According to him, the society needs to be capable of reintegrating offenders and taking care of their environment and fighting any form of stigmatization in that respect.
He noted that Montenegrin citizens are often exposed to the narratives and fake news which are designed to bring the Montenegrin society back to the darkness of the 1990s.
“They are being offered the past instead of the present and the future, and conflict instead of tolerance. We at the CDT believe that one of the key responsibilities of our society is to confront, actively and efficiently, those dangerous ideas, regardless of whether they are coming from Montenegro or from abroad,” Koprivica said.
Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro Maryse Daviet said that terrorism is a denial of democracy and human rights.
“The OSCE has a holistic approach in order to support security and practices through a multi-sectoral dialogue and cooperation.
The national platform, she noted, is a component of a comprehensive approach to the fight against terrorism, with a special focus on preventing and suppressing violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism.
