23.4.2008
ImageEuropean
Union, at a conference attended by Justice and Interior
Affairs Ministers has agreed to proscribe the use of Internet
by terrorist and armed outfits in the world, including
the LTTE.
The
decision was reached at a conference attended by Justice
and Interior Affairs Ministers. It is not a secret that
terrorist organisations were raising funds and carrying
out their propaganda through the internet. The meeting
was held in Luxembourg.
Reflecting
mounting anxiety that the Internet has become a crucial
tool for would-be terrorists, the agreement will make
it a crime to disseminate terrorism propaganda through
the Internet for recruiting, training and bomb-making
purposes.
It
was decided to encourage all European Union member nations
to enact laws to thwart terrorists and armed groups using
Internet. The Ministers were unanimous in stating the
intent to put an end to rackets undertaken by terrorist
organisations with the help of Internet.
The
new rules are aimed at codifying terrorist crimes among
countries with very different histories and experiences
with terrorism, with the goal of preventing radicalization
and helping police locate and arrest suspects in cross-border
investigations.
The
ministers said in a statement that the initiative would
help "equip our legal systems across the EU with
the adequate tools to bring to justice the criminals who
spread violent propaganda providing terrorism tactics
and instructions on how to manufacture and use bombs or
explosives to provoke others to commit terrorist acts."
The
agreement updates anti-terror laws passed by the European
Union after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the United
States that were aimed at preventing terrorists from exploiting
loopholes in various legal systems across the Continent.
It
should make it easier for police to shut down Web sites
disseminating terrorist propaganda and bomb-making instructions
and to identify and pursue proselytizers and recruiters.
It could also help courts and administrative authorities
to demand that Internet service providers remove information
considered dangerous.