AUSTRALIA-SECURITY/SUMMIT-ABBOTT Australian PM warns of the threat posed by IS

Record ID: 150867

  • Title: AUSTRALIA-SECURITY/SUMMIT-ABBOTT Australian PM warns of the threat posed by IS
  • Date: 11th June 2015
  • Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (JUNE 11, 2015) (REUTERS) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER TONY ABBOTT WALKING ONTO STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER TONY ABBOTT SAYING: "We have all seen on our screens the beheadings, the crucifixions, the mass executions and the sexual slavery that the Daesh death cult has inflicted, mostly on Muslims, in the Middle East. That is what the
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Australia
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAF0CIPEAH09M26Z9MZWD4KKOCJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday (June 11) has warned a summit on countering violent extremism in Sydney of the global threat posed by Islamic State militants, also known as Daesh.
    Twenty-five countries, including representatives from the UK and the U.S., are attending the summit which will allow delegates to compare strategies to stop online radicalisation of young people.
    "We have all seen on our screens the beheadings, the crucifixions, the mass executions and the sexual slavery that the Daesh death cult has inflicted, mostly on Muslims, in the Middle East. That is what the death cult has in store for everyone if it has its way. This is not terrorism for a local grievance; this is terrorism with global ambitions," Abbott said in his opening remarks.
    Western strategy in Iraq has come under fire again in recent weeks after Islamic State militants captured the city of Ramadi despite coalition air strikes designed to halt their advance and reverse their gains. Witnesses said Iraqi government forces abandoned their arms and fled.
    U.S. President Barack Obama said more progress was needed to stem the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq after he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) nations summit in Germany.
    Abbott said negotiating with IS was not an option.
    "Daesh is coming, if it can, for every person and for every government with a simple message: submit or die. The declaration of a caliphate, preposterous though it seems, is a brazen claim to universal dominion. You can't negotiate with an entity like this, you can only fight it," Abbott said.
    Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that large numbers of women and young girls were affected the militant group's actions.
    "It defies all comprehension for women to support extremist groups such as Daesh given that it is women and girls who are disproportionately affected by the activities of terrorist groups. In Syria and Iraq, the bombing, fighting, executions and murders have affected enormous numbers of women and girls. For those who escape death Daesh has published instructions for the treatment of sexual slaves which includes raping and beating women," she said.
    Some 550 women from Western countries have left their homelands to join Islamic State, which has captured swathes of Syria and Iraq, said a report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College, London.
    "So when we look at how we counter the propaganda of extremist groups in our Countering Violent Extremists programmes, we must find the right voices to expose the ugly truth about the fear, suffering and trauma these thugs impose on women and children." Bishop added.
    Organisers said executives from Twitter, Google Australia and other social media websites will participate in the summit.
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