OSCE Mission to Skopje supports police training on combating terrorism

SKOPJE, 28 June 2010 - A one-week OSCE-supported training course for law enforcement bodies on fighting fundamentalist criminal organizations and terrorism financing started in Skopje today.

The training course, organized by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, will target law enforcement personnel from the Security and Counterintelligence Bureau and the Organized Crime Department under the Public Security Bureau. Experts from the Turkish National Counter Terrorism Department will teach the course.

"Supporting the fight against organized crime and terrorism is at the core of the Mission's activities. This training course will allow staff from the Interior Ministry to enhance their knowledge of the roots, characteristics and types of terrorism, as well as enable them to identify efficient ways of addressing this security challenge," said Paulo Costa, the OSCE Mission's Head of Police Development Department.

The Head of the Organized Crime Department of the Interior Ministry, Mitko Cavkov, said that the course would contribute to strengthening the capacities of law enforcement bodies in their effort to combat fundamentalism, terrorism and organized crime.

"It takes well-co-ordinated action on the part of all security actors to reach this common goal," he added.

Ahmet Sait Yayla, a Turkish expert delivering the training, said: "Knowledge about countering fundamentalist criminal organizations and terrorism financing techniques is crucial for successful operations, both proactive and reactive, and for ensuring security in the countries involved."