Director of Internal Security Service: Estonia not currently at risk; international communication good
While police have increased their visible presence in certain areas after yesterday's attacks on Brussels, Estonia does not have any information suggesting the possibility of a terrorist attack, and related international communication is strong, according to Arnold Sinisalu, Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service.
“Currently we do not see any reason to overreact to recent events. Of course what happened in Belgium is regrettable, but Estonia does not currently have any indications that anyone is planning a terrorist attack against us,” said Sinisalu on the news program “Aktuaalne kaamera” yesterday.
The chief director explained that Security Police and the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) agreed to increase visible police presence in the country in response to yesterday’s attacks, however the country’s security threat level has not been raised.
According to remarks he made on ETV’s morning news program “Terevisioon” this morning, the latter is dependent upon both intelligence received domestically and communication with partners abroad, the latter of which he deemed particularly important.
“Information exchange is not a problem," said Sinisalu. "The question is rather whether all member states are able to gather enough internal intelligence to actively fight terrorism”. He mentioned that there has been some support for the idea of a Europe-wide intelligence agency being established, but noted that he did not put much stock into such ideas.
“The first line [of defense] still remains at the internal, domestic level,” the director general explained. “If a country’s police and security services are able to gather enough intelligence to prevent any [terrorist] acts, then this is the best guarantee that the fight against terrorism remains successful.”
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik