SPAIN has upgraded its anti-terrorist security, after yesterday’s attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 dead.
An emergency government meeting was called following the attack in Paris, in which interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said the country’s anti-terrorist security level was being upgraded.
The move will see more police on the streets and tighter security around public places in the upcoming weeks.
However, Diaz stressed that the measures were purely ‘precautionary’.
Although he did predict that the rivalry between leaders of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State could lead to more attacks.
French police continue to search for two brothers, described as ‘armed and dangerous’.
All Eurozone countries will be forced to step up their security measures and Spain needs to because of it’s close proximity to North Africa.
France has a much higher risk of terrorist activity not least because it has a very large number of immigrants from North Africa the majority of whom are decent law abiding citizens. Having visited Algeria years ago (you cannot visit now for holidays without clearance and precautions) I was very aware of some Algerians with radical views then, and many with a big chip on their shoulders who felt they should not be classed as Arab but as French. When this news broke yesterday and it said the terrorists were fluent French speakers I felt immediately they were of Algerian descent. Algeria is a ticking time bomb of unrest which unfortunately is creeping into the relatively calm Tunisia and onwards to Morocco. That is why Spain needs to up it’s security.
European cities are vulnerable to these groups and the problem could be with us for decades.
I can relate to everything you are saying Mike. I knew an Algerian in London many years ago and he was an Islamic Fundamentalist who had no respect whatsoever for Western democracy, women, British values or our way of life. He too had a chip on his shoulder and continuously sneered at all things French/European and banged on endlessly about the civil war. He had a very close network of Algerian friends (male only) in London and never mixed with anyone else socially, his only contact with non-Algerians was at work where he could not avoid it.
The severity of this situation cannot be ignored and urgent action is needed. God knows what the person I knew is doing now but I am in no doubt where his sympathies lie.
Spain is right to step up its security, I think the threat is very real. These extremists have no mercy, you cannot negotiation with them, it is either their way or no way.
With huge insecure and unmanned borders between North African countries I expect an attack one day in Morocco on some expat development that would then have repercussions for Southern Spain. Even Tunisia is infected by these insurgents and that country used to be safe.
None of them have respect for democracy, women etc. or they would not follow that religion.
The Foreign Office is warning British tourists to be vigilant in Paris. No where will be safe soon.
As I said on here a day or two before the Paris attacks, this was bound to happen and similar will happen again. All politicians in power have been burying their heads in the sand. A few things to think about, if someone is sent to prison for terror charges should they be walking around the streets 18 months later as in the Paris case? If people come back from fighting for ISIS should you let them walk around the streets after a short sentence? Should you let all these hate preachers carry on saying what they do and brainwashing the weak minded? Unless you start taking action the EU will have more attacks than the ones that are already coming.
Madrid’s probably ahead of the game here, due to the ETA attacks of previous decades. I certainly found it to be the case in 2005/6 (and in previous years) that security gates and officers would raise an alarm if any intruders wanted to gain entry. Obviously it wouldn’t stop determined attackers but in most cases they’d not know which floor or office to target. Unfortunately there are plenty of alternative soft targets (which I obviously won’t mention here).