Aoun at regional conference on counterterrorism: We must combat the idea before the act
10/28/2025 12:21:00 PM
President of the Republic Joseph Aoun affirmed that “terrorism is the deliberate, unjustified, and unlawful use of physical or psychological violence against innocent civilians, not as an end, but as a means to intimidate and subdue others to extract illegitimate demands.”
Speaking at the Regional Conference on International Judicial Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, he stressed that eradicating terrorism requires confronting not only the perpetrators but also the ideology that recruits them.
“The real battle lies in extinguishing the thought that deceives minds into believing that atrocity is virtue,” Aoun said, calling on intellectual, religious, and community leaders to take an active role in isolating extremists and countering radical narratives.
The President underlined that Lebanon was chosen to host the conference “because it has fought terrorism on all fronts, militarily, security-wise, and intellectually, and prevailed each time.”
Lebanon, he added, remains a land of “tolerance, dialogue, diversity, and freedom,” where extremism cannot thrive.
President Aoun concluded by emphasizing the need for institutionalized Arab and international cooperation to confront emerging forms of terrorism, including cyber and biological threats, through stronger mechanisms for information exchange, mutual legal assistance, extradition, and enforcement of judicial rulings, asserting that “terrorism has become global, and so must our fight against it.”
Speaking at the Regional Conference on International Judicial Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, he stressed that eradicating terrorism requires confronting not only the perpetrators but also the ideology that recruits them.
“The real battle lies in extinguishing the thought that deceives minds into believing that atrocity is virtue,” Aoun said, calling on intellectual, religious, and community leaders to take an active role in isolating extremists and countering radical narratives.
The President underlined that Lebanon was chosen to host the conference “because it has fought terrorism on all fronts, militarily, security-wise, and intellectually, and prevailed each time.”
Lebanon, he added, remains a land of “tolerance, dialogue, diversity, and freedom,” where extremism cannot thrive.
President Aoun concluded by emphasizing the need for institutionalized Arab and international cooperation to confront emerging forms of terrorism, including cyber and biological threats, through stronger mechanisms for information exchange, mutual legal assistance, extradition, and enforcement of judicial rulings, asserting that “terrorism has become global, and so must our fight against it.”