Bosnian ‘White al-Qaeda’ seen as grave threat to Europe

January 8, 2008
SERBIANNA

Bosnian Muslim politician says that the Islamic terrorist with European features that are based in Bosnia are more dangerous for the security of Europe than the ‘White al-Qaeda’ with bases in Kosovo, reports Croatian daily Vecernji List.

“In Bosnia and Herzegovina today al-Qaeda is in a strategic planning phase. This means that, among such potentials – and it is likely that there are 100,000 such believers – you can find five people… to hang bombs on their belts and bring in explosives,” says Dzevad Galijasevic, chairman of the New Democratic Party in Bosnia and an author of the recently published book The Era of Terrorism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. Galijasevic says that the international community does not attach a high level of importance to the presence of ‘White al-Qaeda’  because Bosnia is not the target of terrorist activities. It is clear,” concludes Galijasevic that the al-Qaeda cells in Bosnia “are waiting for EU accession; thus, this white, European physiognomy and anthropology – the so-called ‘white al-Qaeda’ – can in fact be the most fatal for Europe, while Bosnia-Herzegovina is an insignificant target for al-Qaeda.”

In August of 2007, US diplomat Raffi Gregorian said in an interview for a Sarajevo daily that al-Qaeda uses Bosnia as a transit point but labeled the local Bosnian Muslims not as “sleeper” cells but as “helper” cells.

“There are sympathizers in the country who are ready to help al-Qaeda with hiding agents, providing financial support or providing false documents,” said Gregorian, the principal deputy to Miroslav Lajcak who is the top international administrator of Bosnia.

The head of the Bosnian Muslim anti-terrorism Special Services unit, SIPA, Aner Hadzimahumutovic, immediately reacted against Gregorian’s statement saying that the unit “has no information on anyone with ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda living in the country.”

The top international administrator of Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, recently issued an order that forces Bosnian Serb police units to be merged with these Bosnian Muslim ones to which Serbs object.

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2008/01019.shtml

2008-01-09