Gardaí to crack down on Islamic extremism

GARDA bosses are to launch a major initiative this year to identify and combat the threat posed by domestic Islamic extremists.

The Garda Policing Plan for 2006 lists radical Islamic extremism as a key security concern for the coming year. It is the first time that Islamic extremism has featured as a key area in policing plans.

The move follows ongoing speculation regarding the threat posed to Ireland by Islamic terrorism and uncertainty as to the level of militancy in the country.

There have been claims that Ireland is at risk given the continuing, and increasing, use of Shannon Airport by the US Army in transporting soldiers to Iraq.

There is also growing concern, reflected by domestic and international human rights bodies, that the CIA might be using Shannon to illegally transport prisoners to foreign facilities where they might be ill-treated or tortured.

In the Garda Policing Plan for 2006, national and international security is listed as the first strategic goal of the force.

Detailing actions covering this area, Action Three is: “Develop initiatives aimed at identifying, preventing and/or disrupting the activities of radical Islamic extremists.”

Key performance indicators to assess the success of the action include the number of initiatives developed and operations commenced. The action will also be assessed on the number of gardaí operating on external borders and the number of international conferences and training programmes attended.

A dedicated section within the Garda Special Detective Unit is believed to have been considerably expanded to meet the challenge. The Middle Eastern Section is engaged in surveillance of known or possible extremists, centring on a particular mosque and prayer groups.

Given the language difficulties, gardaí have found it difficult to get an accurate picture of the scale or extent of Islamic militancy in the country.

The unit is supported by the Defence Forces’ Military Intelligence Unit, which has some 20-30 members with linguistic and political expertise.

Contrary to speculation that there might be up to 200 extremists in the country, garda and army sources suggest there are around 15 possible fundamentalists.

In 2004, the EU anti-terrorism chief Gijs De Vries said Ireland was as much at risk of a terrorist outrage as any other European country.

Following the London bombings last July, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said there were some extremists here who were involved in logistical support for terrorist-type activities in Europe and elsewhere.

However, he added that 99.9% of the 25,000-plus Muslim community in Ireland had “nothing but contempt” for the bombings in London.