In the presence of Dr. Yacoub Nasereddin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Brigadier Dr. Ali Al-Zubi, Commander of the Central Region, Colonel Matthew Gale, Liaison Officer in the Australian Federal Police (AFP), a body of academic and administrative personnel, and a body of police officers and policemen, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) concluded today Wednesday the activities of the National Team for Community Peace’s project, which was launched jointly by the Community Peace Center at PSD, MEU, and the AFP.
In a speech given by Dr. Yacoub Nasereddin, he stated: “We are all sensing the effects of the changes that communities around the world, including the Jordanian one, have witnessed and are still witnessing. Some of those changes were unprecedented; some were already present before but not to drastic levels. We have witnessed more variety in criminal behaviour. New, unfamiliar ideologies and attitudes have surfaced; namely extremist ideologies and violent extremism.”
From his side, Brigadier Dr. Ali Al-Zubi, Commander of the Central Region, stressed the importance of reaching a common aim that guarantees the overall security of the Jordanian community, with all of its institutions, citizens and guests included. He said that it is necessary to activate citizens’ role and that of civil community organizations in the social and security systems, and base this role on a vision and a mission that call for working in unity with the entirety of the community in order to maintain an intellectually and behaviorally healthy community. Moreover, he assured that the Second Centennial is the right opportunity to demonstrate this role and move forward towards a unified community armed with security in the face of all threats.
Lieutenant-Colonel Riyad Al-Btoosh, Director of the Community Peace Center (CPC), also made a speech in which he said: “We all know that preserving security is not a role exclusive to the police authorities; it is the responsibility of all groups and institutions in the community, since they are entitled to determine their own needs and threatens to its security.
The ceremony featured two short films about the Community Peace Center and the stages of the Community Peace project, as well as a theatrical sketch entitled “The Hearing and Speech Impaired” that discussed how some youth with special needs and exploited by terrorists and tricked into following extremist ideologies.
Furthermore, Major Omar Al-Khalaileh discussed the importance of using various channels to ensure that all groups in the society will receive the message of the CPC, including people with hearing impairment; one of the groups targeted and recruited by terrorists. Members of this group are also part of this team and were present during the ceremony to demonstrate that the team is fully considerate of the importance of the inclusion of such group. Some actors of this group performed a play on the importance of the family’s role in confronting extremism and negative ideologies that children might be subject to; such double representation, done in cooperation with the National Center for Culture and Arts, was intended to break the barrier between families and people with special needs.
The ceremony, presented by Major Omar Al-Khalaileh, Director of Media at the CPC, was concluded by exchanging plaques of appreciation between MEU President, Commander of the Central Region and the CPC, as well as awarding certificates of appreciation to the participants of the Community Peace training course. The attendants were also taken in a tour around the library lobby to see the photo gallery that features some aspects of extremist behaviours.