BUDIMIR: EXTREMISM PRECURSOR TO TERRORISM; ALL TERRORIST ATTACKS IN BiH WERE CARRIED OUT BY WAHHABIS

MOSCOW, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ – The Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska Željko Budimir emphasized that extremism, often a precursor to terrorism, remains one of the most serious threats to the safety of citizens, their lives, and property, and as such poses a danger to both national and international security in today's world.

"Even though attention is increasingly shifting to other threats, such as armed conflicts, less on extremism and terrorism, this does not mean the threat has diminished. Unfortunately, the roots of radicalization and violent extremism that lead to terrorism have been present in BiH since the mid-1990s," Minister Budimir said at the International Conference on Combating Extremism, held at the Russian National Centre in Moscow, organised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Speaking about the challenges Republika Srpska is facing in combating extremism, minister Budimir pointed out that radicalization in BiH first appeared in the form of ideological beliefs of the El Mujahid detachment members, who came to Bosnia during the war.

In his address to participants from 40 countries, Minister Budimir stressed that these radical ideas gradually spread to the local population, first through attitudes and behaviors that expressed extremist views, ultimately resulting in organised terrorist attacks.

"All terrorist attacks that have taken place in BiH were carried out by members of the Wahhabi movement, which is known to be linked to some of the largest terrorist attacks worldwide.

These attacks were committed from a position of religious radicalism, in the spirit of the ideology of violently establishing a `Sharia state` in BiH based on Sharia law," the interior minister of Srpska highlighted.

He added that this type of behaviour also manifests in the rejection of BiH's Constitution and laws, as well as non-recognition of the state institutions responsible for enforcing them.

He reiterated the importance of inter-police cooperation, particularly in the exchange of operational intelligence and joint action, both preventive and repressive, in the fight against extremism and in mitigating its consequences.

The goal of the two-day conference, organised by Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, is to discuss practical extremist ideologies and to advance legislative cooperation at the international level in the fight against extremism, reads a statement from the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska.