RIYADH, 2 February 2005 — Fifty-one countries and nine international organizations, including the UN, Interpol and Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, will attend the four-day International Counter-Terrorism Conference in Riyadh next Saturday. It will be inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah at the newly-established King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center.
The conference, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represents a serious international effort on the Kingdom’s part to delve into the multidimensional and transnational problem of terrorism.
The participants will examine the root cause of terror, its relationship with money laundering and drug trafficking. Discussions will also center on ways of combating terrorism by identifying the link between terrorism and arms smuggling.
Workshops, where experts will interact and share their experience over four days, will underpin the recommendations to be announced at the end of the conference.
Experts in counter-terrorism, money laundering and security from many countries are scheduled to attend the conference. Ambassadors and security officials agree that terrorism is much more than a security problem and is a multidimensional phenomenon embracing political, socio-economic and cultural issues. However, none has defined terrorism and this promises to be a point of hot debate.
Paying tributes to the Kingdom for its initiative, British Ambassador Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles said: “The conference is of huge importance. First, because it is living proof that the struggle against terrorism and its causes is an international one, transcending countries and continents. Second, because it recognizes that terrorism cannot be cured by security measures alone. Third, because it recognizes the links between terrorism and other forms of transnational crime, such as drugs and arms smuggling, and money laundering. The British government applauds the Saudi government’s initiative in recognizing all these trends and in launching such an important conference to address them.”
Asked about the roots of terrorism, the ambassador said there are many. “Often, it is the means by which angry and misguided minorities seek to impose their will by violence on a great mass of peace-loving citizens. At its heart, as the Saudi government has recognized, lies mistaken and misguided thinking.”
According to a French Embassy statement, a high-level French delegation, led by Gilles Leclair, head of the Unit of Coordination of Terrorism Prevention (UCLAT) at the French Ministry of Interior, will participate in the conference. It will include representatives from different French anti-terror agencies. The French delegation will co-chair one of the working groups.
“Defining terrorism is difficult. Social roots, education and poverty have either indirect or no links with terrorism. Quite wealthy and educated people often enter terrorist organizations, being educated enough to share political goals. Surely, oppression and humiliation reinforce this phenomenon,” the French Embassy statement said.
Describing terrorism as “the common enemy that threatens and destabilizes the international community,” Chinese Ambassador Wu Chunhua said his country will depute a seven-member delegation of counter-terrorism experts with Chen Weixiong, counselor at the International Affairs Department of Foreign Ministry as the head.
In his view, “the root causes of terrorism are complex and multiple with factors in politics, economy, culture and society. As the victim of terrorism, China suffers the same with Saudi Arabia. China opposes terrorism in all its forms. We advocate that counter-terrorism needs clear targets and sound evidence. Both the symptoms and causes of terrorism should be addressed, and especially, the hotbed fostering terrorism should be eliminated by solving the development issues and regional conflicts in the international arena.”
Malaysian Ambassador Wan Mokhtar Ahmad said the roots of terrorism could be traced in the unjust policies of the major powers. He said the search of a “just solution” through “a balanced approach” could go a long way in reining in the elements of terror.
