VZCZCXRO0182
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHVI #1407 2680644
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240644Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0997
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS VIENNA 001407 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER AU
SUBJECT: GOA SEES GROWING THREAT FROM ISLAMIST TERRORISM 
 
REF: Vienna 1359 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (U) Austria's anti-terrorism experts see a rising threat of 
Islamic terrorism in the country.  A report presented by Interior 
Minister Maria Fekter (OVP) September 18 noted "growing 
radicalization" among second and third generation Muslims in Austria 
and warns against "sleepers" trained in Arab terrorist camps.  In 
reaction, Fekter has called for expanded police tools, including 
permission for online computer searches.  End summary. 
 
Growing Islamist Threats 
------------------------ 
¶2. (U) The latest report by Austria's constitutional protection and 
anti-terrorism agency BVT (covering the period July 2007 to June 
2008) notes that the threat from Islamic terrorism in Austria has 
been steadily growing over the past 2 years.  BVT chief Peter 
Gridling, who presented his agency's annual report together with 
Fekter to the press September 18, in particular mentioned "a trend 
toward growing radicalization of second and third generation Muslim 
immigrants" and among "converts" in past years. Gridling confirmed 
that his agency was monitoring "sleepers" in the country, but 
dismissed press speculation which spoke of "hundreds" of observed 
individuals as "exaggerated."  Gridling stressed that investigators 
were no longer merely confronted with activists distributing 
inciting radical Islamic propaganda literature.  Instead, there was 
increasing evidence that these activists offered training in how to 
build explosives. 
 
 
Legislative Proposals 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Referring to BVT intelligence about Austrian suspects 
training in Arab terrorist camps, Fekter called for national as well 
as EU-wide legal provisions to punish participation in such camps in 
the source country of the participant.  Additionally, Fekter called 
for legislative action to move against "hate preachers" irrespective 
of whether they preach in front of large or "limited" audiences. 
(Comment: Austria's penal code has no provisions to punish hate 
speech in front of small audiences.  End Comment).  Guilty 
foreigners should be stripped of their residence permit and 
deported, the Minister said.  In response to the rising challenges 
mentioned in the latest anti-terrorism report, the BVT had 
recalibrated itself with more manpower to be able to better focus on 
the Islamic scene, director Gridling added. 
 
¶4. (U) Recalling the most visible terrorism incidents in Austria in 
2007, when a Muslim couple was convicted of spreading threat 
messages against the Austrian government via Internet-based videos, 
the eport stressed increasing use of the Internet as ameans for 
recruitment and as a propaganda tool fr terrorist threats.  As a 
result, Fekter, echoig similar pleas by her predecessor Guenter 
Platte, again urged parliament to pass legislation allowng police 
to conduct on-line computer data base searches using so-called 
"Trojans." 
 
¶5. (U) This proposal is highly controversial in Austria, where 
protection of personal data is highly prized.  Opposition to more 
data mining by police is particularly strong in the Green party and 
prominent Green MP Peter Pilz recently staged a "Big Brother" event 
at a busy Vienna subway intersection in which he donned a police 
uniform and asked commuters to give fingerprints and saliva samples 
for the Interior Ministry's data bank. 
 
More incidents of Right-Wing Radicalism 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The Report's section on right-wing radicalism notes growth in 
reported incidents of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, from 240 
to 343 over the previous year.  According to the BVT, the rise can 
be attributed in part to greater sensibility to these crimes by the 
population, and a resultant higher willingness by the population to 
report these incidents.  Conversely, incidents of left-wing 
radicalism and those involving militant animal rights activists 
decreased over the same period. 
 
Comment 
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¶7. (SBU) The BVT's anti-terrorism report reflects growing awareness 
in Austria that Islamic radicalism in particular remains a key 
security threat for the country as actors increasingly link up 
internationally.  The Minister's call for additional legislation to 
facilitate intelligence collection by law enforcement agencies is to 
be commended, although no quick parliamentary action is to be 
expected with national elections on September 28 and the formation 
of a new government possibly months away. 
 
GIRARD-DICARLO