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Australia’s prime minister has told an Asia-Pacific regional conference that terrorism is a modern form of treason and the region’s greatest security challenge.
It is crucial to find methods to tackle the ideology of extremist groups that have drawn thousands of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria, Tony Abbott said in Sydney yesterday.
“You can’t negotiate with an entity like this, you can only fight it,” he said of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
“This is not terrorism for a local grievance; this is terrorism with global ambitions.”
The conference is being attended by ministers and representatives of 30 nations as well as the technology companies Facebook, Twitter and Google.
Abbott said the only really effective defence against terrorism is persuading people that it is pointless.
“We need idealistic young people to appreciate that joining this death cult (ISIL) is an utterly misguided and wrong-headed way to express their desire to sacrifice,” he said.
“How this is best done is, of course, the work of this conference.”
Abbott said Australia was “looking at what can be done to deal with Australian citizens who have betrayed our country by fighting with terrorists, this modern form of treason”.
Greg Barton, a professor from Monash University, told Al Jazeera that while Abbott was not well known for his “nuanced communication”, the summit represented a significant “buy-in” for his government.
“I think this marks the beginning of a more public discussion about countering violent extremist approaches,” he said. — Al Jazeera
Online Reporter