Citizens fighting in Syria threaten our security

THE federal government is exploring the possibility of stripping Australian jihadists fighting in Syria of their citizenship. Discussion on possible measures has begun between Attorney-General George Brandis and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison but no submission has yet been made to Cabinet.

Up to 120 Australians are believed to be engaged in the civil war and at least four have lost their lives in the conflict, including one suicide bomber. The threat to security posed to Western nations by returning nationals who have been radicalised in the Syrian conflict has been widely recognised. Last year British Home Secretary Theresa May stripped 20 British dual-nationals of their British citizenship using "deprivation of citizenship" powers. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls believes that more than 300 French nationals or residents are either currently fighting in Syria's civil war, planning to go and fight or have recently returned from the country. France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe. At the recent Interpol Global Security and Counterterrorism Convention in Sydney, Australian Federal Police counterterrorism chief Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan warned that international studies show that about one in nine persons who comes back is a concern and can be engaged in hostile activity in their own country. Brandis has also warned that returning fighters could commit terrorist acts in Australia. "These individuals not only potentially breach Australian laws and commit offences offshore, but upon their return to Australia pose a significant national security risk," he told the conference. The possibility of stripping Australian jihadists of their citizenship is deeply problematic because most of those participating in the civil war appear to only possess one nationality - Australian. It would be difficult in law to remove that nationality and in effect declare them stateless and exiled. If they possess dual nationality, as was the case of those the UK stripped of their citizenship, it would be possible for them to identify another country they could return to. The more formidable issue remains the extent to which the Australian citizens have become radicalised, encouraged and had their trips to Syria facilitated by extremist imams, particularly in Sydney. Defectors have warned that Western recruits were being trained to make car bombs before being sent home to form terror cells. Ironically, these home-grown terrorists probably are a greater threat to the Muslim community that nurtured them than they are to the wider society. Reports from Syria indicate that fighters who thought that they would be helping to wage war against the Assad regime are instead engaged in an internecine Islamist struggle between Sunni and Shia groups, with forces backed by al-Qaeda facing off against those supported by the Saudis. Whatever they are doing, and whomever they think they are fighting, is immaterial to our security however. By participating in the Syrian strife, they have broken Australian law and must be dealt with immediately on their return before they have the opportunity to exercise their terrorist skills locally.