Aleksandra Joksimovic: Region needs maximum vigilance

BELGRADE - Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Aleksandra Joksimovic stated on Friday that the Western Balkans and Serbia as part of the region are not currently target of radical Islamism but there is potential danger that they may be in jeopardy at some point.

Terrorism is obviously spreading and in this context, maximum caution and vigilance of all relevant bodies is more than necessary, Joksimovic told Tanjug.

She warned that there are certain individuals in the region who are radical Islamists and who engage in combats abroad, after which they return to the area.

It is very important that the Serbian government sent an important message to the U.S. and the entire world wherein it showed that it is willing to participate in the fight against terrorism in every possible way, and one of the models of the fight
is embodied in identifying and gathering data on individuals engaging in clashes abroad, she underscored.

Commenting on the attack on the editorial of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday, Joksimovic said that this was a serious terrorist attack which constitutes additional strain on the ties between the West and Islamic countries, primarily with regard to the high likelihood that the attack was organised by jihadist organisation Islamic State.

Such form of terrorism gives ground to caution in the entire western world, she said and warned that it is very dangerous to bring the attack in sole connection with religious conflicts and view the whole Islamic world through the prism of terrorism.

In this context, it is very important for tensions to calm down and for western countries to refrain from any kind of retribution against Muslim population, Joksimovic said.