Daily Telegraph (Australia)
05 November 2015
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Teen Terrorists aren’t Born – They’re Made
Teen Terrorists aren’t Born – They’re Made
The Baird government is still pussy-footing around the growing problem of teenage terrorism. Accountant Curtis Cheng’s murder at the hands of a 15-year-old Muslim boy outside Parramatta police station last month prompted its latest response.
Cheng was yet another innocent slaughtered in NSW by a terrorist groomed by associates known to authorities in a planned, targeted act of terrorism. This week, Premier Mike Baird announced a multi-million-dollar suite of responses to assist schools counter what it termed violent extremism.
More counselling and support services will be provided to students and staff before the next school year to identify vulnerable young people and help them access support programs.
These will be supported with up to five specialist school support teams to work with identified schools and respond to critical incidents, in concert with community leaders.
… Last month I attended an extensive briefing on aspects of terrorism in our region at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
ICPVTR head Rohan Gunaratna is no stranger to global terror or its Australian context. As he pointed out, Australian-born Neil Prakash is the most active recruiter of young Australians in Islamic State’s stable of glib agents.
“He is very effective at connecting with Australian youth, grooming them and instructing them to conduct terrorist attacks,” Professor Gunaratna told me.
ICPVTR / GPO / Online
