Netherlands Concerned about Al Qaida in North Africa

The Netherlands is concerned about the increasing influence of Al Qaida in North Africa. The Hague wants to step up its partnership with Algeria against terrorism, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told the Lower House on Friday.

As far as international terrorism is concerned, "the most important threat unabatedly comes from Islamic terrorist groupings including Al Qaida," according to Verhagen. "Al Qaida's influence has unfortunately increased in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past year." However, "the threat has increased specifically in the North Africa/Sahel region," Verhagen adds.

Elementary for success in Afghanistan "is a clear approach by Pakistan". Media and experts say that the Pakistani government is too conciliatory and negotiates from a position of weakness, according to the minister. "The fear exists that a safe haven for terrorists will thereby again be permitted in the tribal areas. The Dutch government shares this concern."

In North Africa, the linking up of the Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat (GSPC) with Al Qaida has led to the emergence of the AQIM terrorist group. This has drawn attention to itself recently via some bloody attacks. "Organisations like AQIM also have network contacts in countries in Western Europe, and recent arrests in Austria and Germany show they also form a potential threat to the Netherlands."

Due to the regional mutual links between North African countries, Verhagen considers it "important to work closely with countries like Morocco and Algeria to reduce terrorism in the region and the influence of AQIM." Cooperation with Morocco has been stepped up in the past year. "The Netherlands is now in talks with Algeria to arrive at a similar partnership arrangement." This focuses on tackling radicalisation via the Internet and in prisons, and tackling the financing of terrorism, document fraud and detection of explosives.

In general, Verhagen places "great value on tackling the underlying factors" that contribute to extremism and terrorism. For this, he has three policy goals. These are "fostering the dialogue between cultures, encouraging reforms in Islamic/Arabic countries and removing the negative perceptions of the West in the Islamic/Arabic world, among other means by using public diplomacy." In combating terrorism, "respect for human rights is paramount."

Meanwhile, Verhagen is working on an anti-terrorism institute to be based in the Netherlands. CDA MP Coruz requested this in a Lower House motion in April. According to Verhagen, "the government will carry out further research to achieve this. I hope to be able to tell you more about this within a few months," he wrote to the House.

Source: NISNEWS