GOA SEES GROWING THREAT FROM ISLAMIST TERRORISM

UNCLAS VIENNA 001407 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER AU SUBJECT: GOA SEES GROWING THREAT FROM ISLAMIST TERRORISM REF: Vienna 1359 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Austria's anti-terrorism experts see a rising threat of Islamic terrorism in the country. A report presented by Interior Minister Maria Fekter (OVP) September 18 noted "growing radicalization" among second and third generation Muslims in Austria and warns against "sleepers" trained in Arab terrorist camps. In reaction, Fekter has called for expanded police tools, including permission for online computer searches. End summary. Growing Islamist Threats -------------- ¶2. (U) The latest report by Austria's constitutional protection and anti-terrorism agency BVT (covering the period July 2007 to June 2008) notes that the threat from Islamic terrorism in Austria has been steadily growing over the past 2 years. BVT chief Peter Gridling, who presented his agency's annual report together with Fekter to the press September 18, in particular mentioned "a trend toward growing radicalization of second and third generation Muslim immigrants" and among "converts" in past years. Gridling confirmed that his agency was monitoring "sleepers" in the country, but dismissed press speculation which spoke of "hundreds" of observed individuals as "exaggerated." Gridling stressed that investigators were no longer merely confronted with activists distributing inciting radical Islamic propaganda literature. Instead, there was increasing evidence that these activists offered training in how to build explosives. Legislative Proposals -------------- ¶3. (U) Referring to BVT intelligence about Austrian suspects training in Arab terrorist camps, Fekter called for national as well as EU-wide legal provisions to punish participation in such camps in the source country of the participant. Additionally, Fekter called for legislative action to move against "hate preachers" irrespective of whether they preach in front of large or "limited" audiences. (Comment: Austria's penal code has no provisions to punish hate speech in front of small audiences. End Comment). Guilty foreigners should be stripped of their residence permit and deported, the Minister said. In response to the rising challenges mentioned in the latest anti-terrorism report, the BVT had recalibrated itself with more manpower to be able to better focus on the Islamic scene, director Gridling added. ¶4. (U) Recalling the most visible terrorism incidents in Austria in 2007, when a Muslim couple was convicted of spreading threat messages against the Austrian government via Internet-based videos, the eport stressed increasing use of the Internet as ameans for recruitment and as a propaganda tool fr terrorist threats. As a result, Fekter, echoig similar pleas by her predecessor Guenter Platte, again urged parliament to pass legislation allowng police to conduct on-line computer data base searches using so-called "Trojans." ¶5. (U) This proposal is highly controversial in Austria, where protection of personal data is highly prized. Opposition to more data mining by police is particularly strong in the Green party and prominent Green MP Peter Pilz recently staged a "Big Brother" event at a busy Vienna subway intersection in which he donned a police uniform and asked commuters to give fingerprints and saliva samples for the Interior Ministry's data bank. More incidents of Right-Wing Radicalism -------------- ¶6. (U) The Report's section on right-wing radicalism notes growth in reported incidents of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, from 240 to 343 over the previous year. According to the BVT, the rise can be attributed in part to greater sensibility to these crimes by the population, and a resultant higher willingness by the population to report these incidents. Conversely, incidents of left-wing radicalism and those involving militant animal rights activists decreased over the same period. Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The BVT's anti-terrorism report reflects growing awareness in Austria that Islamic radicalism in particular remains a key security threat for the country as actors increasingly link up internationally. The Minister's call for additional legislation to facilitate intelligence collection by law enforcement agencies is to be commended, although no quick parliamentary action is to be expected with national elections on September 28 and the formation of a new government possibly months away. GIRARD-DICARLO