Radicalization prevention centre could have 'opened dialogue' with 10 arrested youth, expert says
Jocelyn Bélanger says new centre will act as middle step between parents and police
Montreal's forthcoming radicalization prevention centre could have helped the 10 young people recently arrested for allegedly wanting to join extremists overseas, says an expert helping to launch the project.
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Jocelyn Bélanger, a member of the prevention centre's implementation committee, says the centre will act as an important middle step between concerned parents and the police.
"Had the centre been in place, their parents could have called," said Bélanger, a professor at Université du Québec à Montréal who specializes in studying terrorist organizations.
The 10 Montreal youth were arrested at Trudeau airport on suspicion of trying to leave the country to join jihadists in Turkey and Syria.
No charges have been laid, although RCMP seized their passports. Police carried out several raids earlier this week related to the investigation.
Other young Quebecers left to join Syrian militants earlier this year.
In an exclusive interview with CBC Montreal's Daybreak, Bélanger said the centre will draw on the experience of other anti-radicalization programs, including those that dealt with right-wing extremists in Germany and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.
Those programs were very successful with a zero to 10 per cent recidivism rate, he said.
Bélanger said the centre will work with at-risk youth in an attempt to turn their focus onto something positive.
He said if someone is interested in joining Syrian militants, for example, the centre will encourage them to raise money for Syrian children instead.
Bélanger said the prevention centre should open in June, although the city has not yet confirmed an opening date.