Adalbi Shkhagoshev: no place for international terrorism in North Caucasus

"Today we have managed to suppress the organized resistance of local thugs thanks to coordinated actions of the law-enforcement agencies in the North Caucasus. However, there is an ideological threat from the agitators of the Daesh terrorist group. A lot of things remain to be done in order to effectively counter it," a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Adalbi Shkhagoshev, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.

Above all, the deputy noted that the North Caucasus region is unique in terms of resisting terrorism.

"Firstly, the North Caucasus overcame an attempt to establish a caliphate. Now the terrorists are trying to do it in Syria, but they have failed, as Putin came to power and said that the North Caucasus was Russia. The will of the majority of the people was that they wanted to live as a part of Russia, that is why there was no place for international terrorism and plans to establish a caliphate," Shkhagoshev said.

The MP pointed out that today's main work in the North Caucasus is to lead the ideological opposition, as the thoughts and ideas haven't died since the cessation of hostilities.

"Now we are fighting against radical ideology because there is no physically organized resistance from the thugs in the Caucasus. The terrorist underground is fragmented, its organization is divided, and the law-enforcement agencies are completely different now," he said.

Adalbi Shkhagoshev expressed the opinion that the people who are engaged in the ideological opposition to the teachings of radical terrorism must be protected by the state.

"There should be a group of people in every region of the North Caucasus who go to the people in conjunction with the law-enforcement authorities, in mosques, various events where radical ideologies may exist. Such people, public figures must possess not only great prestige, but they should also be protected by the law-enforcement agencies in order not to be afraid to carry out their work.

However, those who are now engaged in anti-ideology are not protected. If the radicals see that they perform their function effectively, they will simply be physically destroyed. This has taken place a lot of times. How many religious leaders were killed in the 90s and early 2000s, therefore they need to be protected so that they could work individually without fear of every person who deviates from the normal course of life. This is the only way to save people from terrorism," he stated.

Speaking about the international fight against terrorism, the MP expressed confidence that the coalition in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia will defeat Daesh in the medium term.

"The fact is that if we don't stop Daesh in Syria, it will mean that the terrorist group will spread to other regions, such as North Africa. In addition, Daesh won't remove the radical problem of terrorism, as new organizations appear, which follow the example of Daesh, because terrorists may create a new brand, unlike al-Qaeda in the 80s and 90s, which was hidden in caves and committed terrorist acts. Daesh has already established a quasi-state in Syria and Iraq," he noted.