site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva: Radicalization Should Be Battled by Education, Economic Prospects for Young People

Mayerbach/Sofia, July 11 (BTA) - Education and upbringing are among the most important steps against the radicalization of young people, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said Tuesday. She also mentioned the help of civic society in creating an atmosphere of confidence and dialogue, which is important for the various governments. Zaharieva was speaking at a round table of the Informal Ministerial Meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) titled "The fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism" in the Austrian town of Mayerbach, the Foreign Ministry said.

Zaharieva spoke of the excellent cooperation between the law enforcement and border authorities of OSCE member countries. She also underscored how important it is to continue OSCE field missions in the Balkans and the Black Sea region.

There should be a different approach to men, women and children in the fight against radicalization, Zaharieva said. That is an extremely important step, she added. Otherwise, for example, women can prove to be a powerful weapon in the hands of terrorists.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister said that formal and informal education should effectively be used in the Western Balkans to promote integration, tolerance and pluralism from the earliest age. Such efforts are unthinkable without the help of media or without encouraging marginal and risk groups to become economically and politically active.

Zaharieva underscored that the OSCE mechanisms of cooperation in security are at risk because of declining confidence. The crisis in the Ukraine and the other conflicts within the OSCE scope remain a challenge to European security and now, more than ever before it is important to abstain from violence and step on the OSCE principles of territorial integrity, transparency. Zaharieva also hailed the efforts to achieve a consensus in the election of a new OSCE Secretary General, as well as of the Office of Democratic Elections and Human Rights, and the High Commissioner on Human Minorities.