Friday's attacks on mosques in New Zealand, in which 50 people were killed, once again brought world's attention to the problem of terrorism. member of the Council under President of the Russian Federation on Inter-Ethnic Relations, deputy director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Zorin, expressed opinion that Russia remains one of the main targets of international terrorism attacks.
"We have certain experience. We believe that prevention of terrorist acts is the task of authorities and special services. Yes, the state has all necessary means to ensure inter-ethnic harmony, fight against terrorism and radicalism, and only it has the right to use force to counter incitement of hatred and prevent violence. However, the role of civil society is also important. Both government, special services and civil society should work to prevent terrorism acts. Unfortunately, we still don't have necessary awareness in society, some people don't understan how dangerous terrorism is. Based on our experience, if there is no ongoing dialogue with civil society, then uncontrolled bursts of violence and radical manifestations can occur," Zorin said.
"Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation until 2025 emphasizes the role of system that will monitor ethno-confessional, interethnic relations and try to prevent conflicts before they occur. "Regional and local authorities should know the real state of affairs and prevent conflicts from reaching the boiling point in order to prevent possible terrorism acts. Measures to prevent terrorism must be taken on daily basis, with proper monitoring of current situation.
We must regularly send signals to civil society, to people, to show them that system of prevention of terrorism acts depends on their activity, on their cooperation with authorities. In other words, it's not just about government structures and security authorities. Traditional mistrust of citizens towards them is understandable: there were times when this cooperation was often misused. There should be trust between government structures, national-cultural organizations, youth organizations," expert believes.
According to him, importance of integrated approach to anti-terrorism work requires improvement of situation with culture and education, as well as increase of employment rate. Work with young people together with law enforcement agencies, municipal authorities, local communities and spiritual leaders is very important. Only joint efforts of all necessary forces of society can stop this evil called terrorism."
