State Department Report shows low terrorist risk in Western Balkans
The recent arrest by BiH authorities of three fundamentalists confirms this trend.
Without endorsing the point of view or the conclusions of the State Department report on terrorism we publish its findings as valuable information on the fears and policies of the major superpower.
Albania pledged to increase its contribution of troops to Afghanistan, froze bank accounts related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and aggressively worked with the United States and other countries to combat terrorism. Albania made progress in identifying vulnerabilities at land and sea borders, but the government and police forces continued to face challenges to enforce border security fully and combat organized crime and corruption.
Albania
On January 14, the criminal trial began against Hamzeh Abu Rayyan, the suspected administrator for UNSCR 1267 Committee-designated terrorist financier Yassin Al-Kadi, who is charged with hiding funds used to finance terrorism. This marked the first ever criminal terrorist finance-related trial in Albania; the trial was ongoing at yearĒs end. A civil suit filed by al-Kadi to release his assets from seizure was dismissed, was then refiled in July, and again was dismissed by the court in September. Al-Kadi's company, Loxhall, also filed a lawsuit in April, aimed at annulling the Council of Ministers' decision as well as the two orders of the Ministry of Finance related to the administration of seized terrorism assets.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Despite ethnic polarization and disputes among Bosnian political leaders that hindered the functioning of state government, Bosnia and Herzegovina's law enforcement organizations cooperated with the United States on international counterterrorism issues. Bosnia remained a weak, decentralized state with poor interagency communication and competing security structures. Efforts by Republika Srpska officials to undermine state-level institutions slowed efforts to improve operational capabilities to combat terrorism and terrorist financing. These factors, combined with political interference in law enforcement, resulted in Bosnia being vulnerable to exploitation as a potential staging ground for terrorist operations in Europe
The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) is the state-level Bosnian law enforcement agency with primary responsibility for counterterrorism operations, but SIPA's capacity was limited. The government filled the position of SIPA Director in December 2007 after a vacancy that lasted almost a year.
The issue of terrorism in Bosnia, including terrorism threat analysis and counterterrorism operations, continued to be politicized. Consequently, Bosnian capabilities and potential for independent action at the state level did not improve as much as hoped. However, the state-level intelligence service provided excellent cooperation and Bosnian authorities were generally responsive to U.S. counterterrorism cooperation requests.
Some former members of the mujahedin brigade1, whose citizenship was revoked by the Citizenship Review Commission, have pursued appeals of these decisions that remained unresolved. In the case of Abu Hamza al-Suri (Imad al-Husayn), the Bosnian Constitutional Court issued a ruling that upheld lower court decisions stripping him of his Bosnian citizenship. The Constitutional Court did, however, return one portion of Hamza's appeal to the State Court to consider whether deportation and possible resulting family separation would violate his human rights. The court had not adjudicated this case as of December 2008.
In March, a group of five individuals with alleged ties to extremists, led by Rijad Rustempasic, was arrested for possession of arms and explosives. For reasons that remain unknown, charges against the defendants were dropped in May and the defendants were released from custody. Investigation of this case continues.
The Bosnian organization Aktivna Islamska Omladina (Active Islamic Youth, or AIO) experienced fractures among its leaders and is no longer an officially registered organization in Bosnia. However some former members continued to spread extremist doctrine. These former members maintained links with extremists in Western Europe and the United States.
In December, Bosnia successfully concluded its mission in Iraq with the redeployment to Bosnia of its Emergency Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and infantry platoon for fixed site security. Through eight rotations to Iraq, the EOD team reduced the threat of unexploded ordnance and excess ammunition.
Bulgaria
In November, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers approved a National Action Plan against terrorism to prevent terrorist acts within Bulgaria and against Bulgarian citizens, against installations and contingents abroad, and to counter possible terrorist activities among the Bulgarian population. The new Counterterrorism Coordination Centre at the State Agency for National Security (DANS) will be the national hub for the suppression of international terrorism and coordinates interaction among Bulgarian ministries and with relevant counterterrorism structures of the EU and NATO.
BulgariaĒs religious leaders, including the leaders of the nationĒs Muslim community, spoke out strongly against extremism and terrorism.
During the year, a total of 20 Bulgarian officials attended Department of Defense counterterrorism training in the United States or in BulgariaĒs neighboring countries through the EmbassyĒs Office of Defense Cooperation under the Counterterrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP). CTFP training focuses on counterterrorism issues taught in residential courses in the United States or through Mobile Training Teams in Europe. The officials included military officers and civilians from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and DANS. The CTFP program total for FY 2008, including both direct allocation and EUCOM discretionary funding, amounted to $252,417.
At the request of the Government of Iraq, Bulgaria concluded its participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on December 17. Its 2008 OIF contribution consisted of a 153-soldier contingent, initially at Camp Ashraf but transferred to Camp Cropper in April. Bulgaria also contributed two officers to the NATO Training Mission in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Bulgaria continued to increase participation in the International Security Assistance Force, where it deployed an additional 50 soldiers to take responsibility for one of the Entry Control Points to Kandahar Airfield, bringing its total, in country, to 470 with the bulk in Regional Command–South. Bulgaria had an infantry company and an infantry platoon in Kabul, an infantry company at Kandahar Airfield, one medical team in Kabul and two in Herat, and two officers serving with the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team in Pol-e Khomri.
In 2008, Bulgaria signed and ratified the counter-WMD Agreement to permit the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to provide training and equipment for law enforcement entities to enhance customs and border guardsĒ ability to detect, interdict, identify, investigate, and respond to the illicit trafficking of WMD and related materials. The Government of Bulgaria also signed and ratified the “Second Line of Defense” Agreement to permit the U.S. Department of Energy to install radioactivity detectors at Bulgarian seaports, airports, and border crossings.
DANS came into force on January 1, 2008 and combined the National Security Service, the State Agency for Protection of Classified Information, the Military Counterintelligence organization, and the Financial Intelligence Agency (now the Financial Intelligence Directorate). In addition to its primary mandate of counterterrorism and counterintelligence, DANS is also charged with fighting organized crime, money laundering, and high-level corruption. After a promising start at the beginning of 2008, DANSĒs reputation rapidly declined and hit a low in September and October following a series of scandals and the apparent politicization of high-profile disputes that led to the dismissal and resignation of several senior intelligence professionals.
The DANS law limited the Financial Intelligence DirectorateĒs (FID) effectiveness and autonomy of FID by changing its status from an independent agency within the Ministry of Finance to a directorate within the DANS. Some of the FIDĒs previous authorities were removed from the law and included only in regulations, further diminishing the FIDĒs status; other authority was assigned to the Director of DANS, but not expressly to the FID, thereby de facto limiting its ability to compel de jure compliance by banks. In addition, discrepancies between the Law on Measures against Money Laundering (LMML) and the law creating DANS created uncertainty regarding the FIDĒs inspections and sanctioning authorities, including its ability to perform anti-money laundering on-site inspections. The anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing activities of FID-DANS were suspended from January 1 to May 1 because of legislative changes in the national legal framework.
Internal reorganizations notwithstanding, FID remained vigilant against terrorist financing and continued to cooperate with the USG on identifying and investigating terrorist assets. The FID reliably distributed lists of individuals and organization linked to terrorism to all of the banks in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Interior, Customs, and the Border Police. The FID has been responsive to all mandated UNSCR-designated terrorist organizations, and has also been very supportive and cooperative on USG designated individuals and organizations. The FID has advised the banking sector to use the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website as a reliable information resource for individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. FID also continued to provide feedback, including information on the response level of BulgariaĒs banks, to the U. S. Treasury DepartmentĒs Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Croatia
In December, Croatia passed a new national strategy for the prevention of terrorism which will enhance Croatia's ability to cooperate in international counterterrorism efforts. Also in December, Croatia, in its Presidency of the UN Security Council, chaired an open debate on "Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorism," which resulted in a UN Presidency Statement condemning terrorist acts and advocating the advancement of international efforts to combat terrorism.
Croatia was in the initial phases of introducing biometric passports, but border security remained a challenge. Border patrol forces were limited by a lack of personnel and training to cover a 750 mile border with Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia. Monitoring the country's 6,000 miles of coastline posed similar problems. As Croatia prepared to join the European Union it was engaged in ongoing reforms of its judiciary to enhance the government's ability to arrest and prosecute criminals of all varieties, including terrorists.
Croatian law-enforcement institutions cooperated well with U.S. counterterrorism initiatives and participated in training from the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary; the Antiterrorism Assistance program; and U.S. Marshals. The Croatian government has increased its contribution to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from 200 to 300 soldiers. These troops serve as military police, medical support, force security, and in liaison and training roles.
Although no new groups' assets were frozen this year under Albania's Terrorism Financing Freeze law, as of October, the Ministry of Finance claimed that it maintained asset freezes against six individuals and 14 foundations and companies on the UNSCR 1267 list. Despite this progress, the effectiveness of the government's counterterrorist financing effort was undermined by a lack of data-processing infrastructure and an inadequate capability to track and manage cases properly.
