Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADVT) Public Relations – Expert meeting “World without Terrorism” was held in Andisheh conference hall at Islamic Azad University of Gorgan on 16 December 2019.
The meeting was organized by ADVT office in Golestan Province in cooperation with Islamic Azad University, Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of the province and was attended by security and political deputy of the Provincial Government, executive director of women affairs of Provincial Government, director of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of the province, figures of the province, the crippled and families of the victims of the province, and students on the occasion of the International Day of World without Violence.
Farideh Jani Hezarroudi, officer of ADVT office at Golestan said “Terror and terrorism are the most challenging issues of the world today and serious threats to global peace and security. This vicious phenomenon, which is recruited by the dominant powers, endangers peace and security of human society with a continuous violence and made peace building impossible.”
She added that “One of the most important goals of terrorist attacks is to create insecurity and horror in human society. The presence of victims of terrorism and their families in raising the awareness of the public opinion at national and international level plays an important role in revealing the real nature of the terrorist groups which are pursuing their inhumane acts by abusing human rights concepts.”
Hojjat al-Eslam Seyed Ali Taheri, the president of Islamic Azad University of Gorgan stated “We live in a world where politicians of hegemonic states strive to distort the realities of the world for their own interests.” He continued “Although Islam is considered as a peaceful religion, many efforts have been made to accuse this religion of terrorism, while Muslims, especially the Iranian people, have suffered the most in the past few decades.”
The president of Islamic Azad University of Gorgan said “Hegemonic powers seeks to increase the cost for independent countries and put the stigma of terrorism on Islamic nations by backing terrorist groups such as ISIS. But this shame is still evident in their inhumane policies. Today, there is no one in the country who is unaware of the crimes of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (hypocrites). The young generation must know how we made effort for the Islamic Revolution until now.
Son of the martyr of terrorism said “We must narrate these crimes of the hypocrites for the society and commemorate the families of the martyrs and the victims of terrorism. The young generation of today are the future leaders of the country, and such scientific meetings on the martyrs of terrorism should continue for raising the awareness of the society.”
In another part of the meeting, Ms. Ehsaneh Ahmadi Golsefidi, university lecturer of psychology argued that “Terrorism and its motivation are very important and according to the hierarchy we can divide the roots of terrorism into the physiological needs, the need for safety, the need for belonging, the need for respect, and the need for self-healing, respectively. What we are looking at is the psychological consequence of terrorism, that is, fear, and this fear today is so pervasive that it cannot be defined geographically. The purpose of terror, as the word itself implies, is to terrorize and spread fear among the people. For this goal, the terrorists target the civilians, and the selection of these targets will cause anxiety among the people.”
The university lecturer pointed out “The message of terrorism is clear and the terrorist wants to say that anyone can be targeted anywhere and anytime, and this is what increases the anxiety of terrorist acts.
Dr Ahmadi concluded “Causes such as the role of personality disorder, disruption of thinking, lack of satisfaction of biological and psychological needs are some of the reasons people tend to commit terrorist acts.”
Ms. Alizadeh, professor of international law at university said “In modern international law, peace can only be achieved when international security is emphasized globally and extensively at international level for preventing violence and extremism.”
She continued “Regarding the new concept of peace, approaches have also changed. The obligation to maintain peace and to try to prevent violence and extremism based on the modern definition of the international community is not only the responsibility of governments, but also of other international actors, such as international organizations, real and legal persons and parties.”
In the end, Dr. Alizadeh pointed out that today, after the wars the world faces challenges with terrorism which plays a crucial role as a main threat in the world.
Israfil Vaziri, Director of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs in Golestan County said: Terrorism is a challenge before Islamic Republic of Iran is from its onset. He referred to the session of “World without Terrorism” and added that branch of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism in Golestan, in cooperation with Islamic Azad University and Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs in Golestan, has managed this session. It is a very good essay for answering the question of how we can extirpate violence from world and to evaluate effect of narratives of terror victims in convincing public opinion toward hindering the terrorism.
