Problem of Terrorism Prevention in Lithuania
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Abstract
The article deals with Lithuanian experience and practice in the sphere of terrorism prevention and combating of terrorism. Scientific works and empirical research, analyzing the problems of terrorism prevention and combating terrorism, have not been practically carried out in Lithuania. Thus, this empirical research will be the beginning for further research, related to the terrorism prevention.
The essential problem related to the practice and experience of Lithuania state, while carrying out the policy of prevention and combating the terrorism both inside the state and the rest of Europe, is being formed. The analyzed problem forms the purpose of the research, i.e. after evaluation of legal acts effective in the Republic of Lithuania and approved governmental programs, foreseeing the principles of the terrorism prevention and combating, to provide the effectiveness of the used legal, organizational, prevention and other types of combating the terrorism.
In the first part of the article authors analyze the issue of conception of terrorism. The origins and etymology of the concept are not totally clear yet. The main reason is the fact that various illegal activities, named as terrorism, terrorism activity, terror, and terror act are used both at international and national levels. The definition of terrorism in Lithuania was established in the Draft of the renewed program of the Republic of Lithuania against terrorism, passed on 15 June 2004. In other case, terrorism definition is closely related to the definition of a terror act. The authors make a conclusion that the terrorism is a broader definition than a terror act, since a terror act is the constituent part of the definition of terrorism. The definition of terrorism nowadays should be understood much wider and should comprise not only various criminal activities, used in the international documents and related to terrorism, but also the threats and dangers threatening the states internal national security. In this meaning, terrorism should be defined as the synthesis of threats or dangers and part of military acts, when aiming at solving particular issues of political or national manner by using violence or terror acts against the state, its official institutions and citizens.
The second part of the article shows the overview of legal base of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism legal base consists of the following: conventions ratified by Lithuania, international agreements on the cooperation in combating the terrorism, laws, establishing various means of combating the terrorism and other legal acts, establishing the competence of the Government and its authorized institutions in the field of the terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The Republic of Lithuania, being the member of European Union, United Nations and NATO and applying common international standards, has ratified all main conventions on the combating the terrorism.
In the third part of the article the current position of terrorism prevention and combating terrorism in Lithuania is presented. All means used by the Republic of Lithuania in the field of national security are called means of combating the terrorism. The following stages of combating the terrorism (or terrorism control) may be separated: a) terrorism prevention, b) liquidation of terror acts and c) investigation of terror acts. While implementing these terrorism control means, many state institutions take part, such institutions take all measures in order to prevent the establishing of terrorism phenomenon in Lithuania.
We shall not be mistaken if we say, that Lithuanian state pays the biggest attention towards the terrorism prevention. In this meaning, terrorism prevention is implementation of means used by the state institutions and preventing the terrorism, prevention of terrorism outspread and the circumstances enabling such an outspread, evaluation of terrorism threats, teaching of public and promoting the cooperation with the police institutions and coordination of these means implementation.
Terrorism threat for Lithuanian state is more of the external type. Internal situation and historic state experience do not establish the conditions for forming of high degree terrorism structures network. Only scantlings by terrorism already exist in Lithuania. Separate violence acts, that occurred up to now, were performed out of criminal and economic stimulus, taking vengeance on criminals by other criminals or out of other reasons. Thus, the major threat for Lithuania is international terrorism and dangers thereof. Institutions participating in the terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism may be called as police institutions. According to the law of national security base of the Republic of Lithuania of 19 December 1996 and the program against the terrorism of the Republic of Lithuania of 22 January 2002, the National Security Department is the main (also the only) state institution, coordinating combating the terrorism in Lithuania. The following institutions of interior management system also may be classified as the police subjects participating in the combating the terrorism: Financial Crime Investigation Service, State Border Guard Service, VIP protection department, Police department, Lithuanian police antiterrorist operations division “Aras”. The attention should be paid to the fact, that other police institutions, especially the institutions of national police, must take an active part in the terrorism prevention.
The fourth part of paper demonstrates strategic directions of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism in Lithuania. National programs, foreseeing general principles of national security ensuring and crimes prevention and control, have a huge impact on forming the strategy of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The aim of national programs, related to the terrorism prevention and the combating the terrorism is to protect Lithuania from the destroying activity of foreign secret services and their cover structures and the activity of terrorist organizations and from terror acts and to prevent such organizations from using the territory of the Republic of Lithuania either as a transit state for destroying activity or for terror acts against other states. While concluding on the perspectives of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism, it can be seen, that the organizing of terrorism prevention and control is not yet very consistent and systematic, and it meets the general principles of crimes prevention and control only partially. In order to avoid all that, it is necessary to establish the criteria of effectiveness evaluation of prepared national programs against the terrorism and to assign suitable amount of allocations to the implementation of the measures stipulated in such programs.
The authors reach the conclusion that terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism are considered as one of the key tasks of the ensuring the states national security. It is accepted that social, political, economic, historic, ethnic, psychological and other reasons influence the emerging of the terrorism phenomenon, thus, action measures to this phenomenon should be analogous. On the other hand, the means of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism comprise the set of ways, methods and means directed against the terrorism and the criminal activities related thereof.
The essential problem related to the practice and experience of Lithuania state, while carrying out the policy of prevention and combating the terrorism both inside the state and the rest of Europe, is being formed. The analyzed problem forms the purpose of the research, i.e. after evaluation of legal acts effective in the Republic of Lithuania and approved governmental programs, foreseeing the principles of the terrorism prevention and combating, to provide the effectiveness of the used legal, organizational, prevention and other types of combating the terrorism.
In the first part of the article authors analyze the issue of conception of terrorism. The origins and etymology of the concept are not totally clear yet. The main reason is the fact that various illegal activities, named as terrorism, terrorism activity, terror, and terror act are used both at international and national levels. The definition of terrorism in Lithuania was established in the Draft of the renewed program of the Republic of Lithuania against terrorism, passed on 15 June 2004. In other case, terrorism definition is closely related to the definition of a terror act. The authors make a conclusion that the terrorism is a broader definition than a terror act, since a terror act is the constituent part of the definition of terrorism. The definition of terrorism nowadays should be understood much wider and should comprise not only various criminal activities, used in the international documents and related to terrorism, but also the threats and dangers threatening the states internal national security. In this meaning, terrorism should be defined as the synthesis of threats or dangers and part of military acts, when aiming at solving particular issues of political or national manner by using violence or terror acts against the state, its official institutions and citizens.
The second part of the article shows the overview of legal base of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism legal base consists of the following: conventions ratified by Lithuania, international agreements on the cooperation in combating the terrorism, laws, establishing various means of combating the terrorism and other legal acts, establishing the competence of the Government and its authorized institutions in the field of the terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The Republic of Lithuania, being the member of European Union, United Nations and NATO and applying common international standards, has ratified all main conventions on the combating the terrorism.
In the third part of the article the current position of terrorism prevention and combating terrorism in Lithuania is presented. All means used by the Republic of Lithuania in the field of national security are called means of combating the terrorism. The following stages of combating the terrorism (or terrorism control) may be separated: a) terrorism prevention, b) liquidation of terror acts and c) investigation of terror acts. While implementing these terrorism control means, many state institutions take part, such institutions take all measures in order to prevent the establishing of terrorism phenomenon in Lithuania.
We shall not be mistaken if we say, that Lithuanian state pays the biggest attention towards the terrorism prevention. In this meaning, terrorism prevention is implementation of means used by the state institutions and preventing the terrorism, prevention of terrorism outspread and the circumstances enabling such an outspread, evaluation of terrorism threats, teaching of public and promoting the cooperation with the police institutions and coordination of these means implementation.
Terrorism threat for Lithuanian state is more of the external type. Internal situation and historic state experience do not establish the conditions for forming of high degree terrorism structures network. Only scantlings by terrorism already exist in Lithuania. Separate violence acts, that occurred up to now, were performed out of criminal and economic stimulus, taking vengeance on criminals by other criminals or out of other reasons. Thus, the major threat for Lithuania is international terrorism and dangers thereof. Institutions participating in the terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism may be called as police institutions. According to the law of national security base of the Republic of Lithuania of 19 December 1996 and the program against the terrorism of the Republic of Lithuania of 22 January 2002, the National Security Department is the main (also the only) state institution, coordinating combating the terrorism in Lithuania. The following institutions of interior management system also may be classified as the police subjects participating in the combating the terrorism: Financial Crime Investigation Service, State Border Guard Service, VIP protection department, Police department, Lithuanian police antiterrorist operations division “Aras”. The attention should be paid to the fact, that other police institutions, especially the institutions of national police, must take an active part in the terrorism prevention.
The fourth part of paper demonstrates strategic directions of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism in Lithuania. National programs, foreseeing general principles of national security ensuring and crimes prevention and control, have a huge impact on forming the strategy of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism. The aim of national programs, related to the terrorism prevention and the combating the terrorism is to protect Lithuania from the destroying activity of foreign secret services and their cover structures and the activity of terrorist organizations and from terror acts and to prevent such organizations from using the territory of the Republic of Lithuania either as a transit state for destroying activity or for terror acts against other states. While concluding on the perspectives of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism, it can be seen, that the organizing of terrorism prevention and control is not yet very consistent and systematic, and it meets the general principles of crimes prevention and control only partially. In order to avoid all that, it is necessary to establish the criteria of effectiveness evaluation of prepared national programs against the terrorism and to assign suitable amount of allocations to the implementation of the measures stipulated in such programs.
The authors reach the conclusion that terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism are considered as one of the key tasks of the ensuring the states national security. It is accepted that social, political, economic, historic, ethnic, psychological and other reasons influence the emerging of the terrorism phenomenon, thus, action measures to this phenomenon should be analogous. On the other hand, the means of terrorism prevention and combating the terrorism comprise the set of ways, methods and means directed against the terrorism and the criminal activities related thereof.
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