Prague, Nov 16 (CTK) – The EU must launch an emergency regime and toughen its security, which is nothing against human rights but, on the contrary, it benefits people´s right to the safety of their own and their homeland, Milos Balaban writes in Czech daily Pravo on Monday in reaction to the Friday terrorist attacks in Paris.
At the same time, the West must clearly say which countries are its allies in fighting Islamic State and which, on the contrary, side with Islamic State, Balaban writes.
The massacre confirmed the apprehension of security experts who said after the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in January that further similar attacks can be expected, Balaban writes.
Once again, it has turned out that cities are an optimal target for terrorists, he writes, recalling previous attacks on New York, Washington, Moscow, Madrid, London and Mumbai.
The Paris case also shows the limits of the police and intelligence services. In France, they were undoubtedly on alert ahead of the global climate summit in Paris, which dozens of heads of states and governments are to attend, but still they could not prevent the spectacular attack which the media dubbed the French 09/11, Balaban writes.
Though the Paris attack did not require as sophisticated and long-lasting preparation as Al-Qaeda´s 09/11 attack with hijacked planes, still it could not do without a necessary infrastructure including the transfer of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and the training and coordination of the attackers, Balaban writes.
The existence of the infrastructure, or the police and intelligence´s unawareness of it, poses an extraordinary threat to whole Europe, Balaban writes.
The Paris attack confirmed once again that Europe is surrounded by security instability most of all continents and even faces security instability directly on its territory, Balaban writes.
The information that one of the Paris attackers seems to have entered Europe via Greece as part of the refugee wave has only confirmed the sad fact that the EU has lost control over its borders and internal security, Balaban writes.
How many dormant jihadists might have entered Europe this way? Even if they made up one per thousand [of all refugees], it has raised the risk of further terrorist attacks, which, on their part, might radicalise the public opinion and escalate people´s hatred of Islam and all Muslims, including the peaceful ones, Balaban writes.
After the Paris attacks, it will be extremely difficult to continue promoting refugee relocation quotas as an instrument to solve the refugee crisis, he says.
Instead of irresponsible calls, endless summits on the refugee crisis, compromises and half-hearted steps, the EU must start to act in an emergency regime and quickly made crucial political decisions such as on an effective protection of the EU´s outer border, the formation of a border protection unit and the enhancement of the powers of the police and intelligence services, Balaban writes.
By no means does this go counter to human rights. Just the opposite is true, since the safety of the state and citizens is a priority human right. This is also a path towards the salvation of the endangered Schengen, whose end could herald the end of European integration, Balaban writes.
It is also true that it is the Middle East and Syrian developments that determine European security now. It is important to make it clear who is Europe and the USA´s ally in fighting Islamic State and who is trying to back Islamic State, often secretly, Balaban writes.
It is no longer possible to run after two hares. Without clearing the above question, it would be very difficult to face the war Islamic State has declared on Europe, Balaban concludes without elaborating.
