On November 19, the Youth Incubator at The House of Wisdom Institute for Consultancy and Conflict Resolution held a meeting entitled Transnational Terrorism.
Mr. Oliver McTernen, the head of the British institute “ Forward Thinking” was the speaker of this session that had gathered the members of the incubator.
Dr. Ahmed Yusuf, the Chairman of the House of Wisdom Institute, started the speech by talking on some excerpts from Mr. Oliver’s life and his role in international mediation in a number of countries, as well as talking about his published book “Violence in God’s Name”.
For his part, Mr. McTernen touched on the concept of terrorism broadly, stating that there was no clear concept of it in international humanitarian law, and that there was no common agreement on its definition or its nature.
The reason behind the multiplicity of contexts with the same term is having no common ground to debate on in order to reach a clear and common concept.
In addition, Mr. McTernan spoke on various forms of terrorism at the local and international level, citing examples of reality in several countries.
Moreover, he listed the reasons of the misunderstanding of terrorism and its forms, in accordance with the examples mentioned.
He noted that the terrorism practiced by some people is an act of denying and ignoring the right of others to live in peace and to obtain their rights legitimately.
He explained that there are two orientations on terrorism in the world. Firstly, there is a need for resources to control, and therefore a conflict will be launched under different arguments with preconceived or veiled agreements. Secondly, there is a need for institutions that protect people’s rights, circumstances and beliefs in a democratic way in order to protect them.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. McTernan delivered a message to the youth during the meeting saying: “I am from a generation that betrayed your generation, and I do not see you as the future generation but the present generation that try to affect change in all respects to ensure a decent life.”
At the end of the meeting, the floor was open for questions and inquiries on the concept of terrorism. Mr. McTernan discussed with them the mechanisms and tools to eliminate the negative effects of the concept’s control over our daily lives.
