Opinion - Editorials   

A menace becomes more malignant

THE BOMB EXPLOSION in Bali on Saturday, that left nearly two hundred dead and several hundred injured, does not just demonstrate that the menace of global terrorism is very much alive. It would also appear to indicate that this phenomenon is able to mutate itself so as to survive even as the environment turns adverse. Indonesian authorities have charged the Al-Qaeda with having perpetrated this particular outrage but others seized with the task of combating terrorism believe that this assessment is premature. Assessment of both kinds would actually appear to be already anachronistic since the term Al-Qaeda today denotes loose groups with an ideological affinity rather than a functionally centralised organisation as it did in the past. After the Afghanistan base of the fundamentalist terrorist network was uprooted, or at least severely undermined, individuals and groups which were intimately connected with the terror mastermind, Osama bin Laden, scattered to all parts of the globe and new cells inspired by him have sprung up. The atrocity in Indonesia, horrific in its proportions as it was, formed the latest in a series of attacks carried out in Morocco, Kuwait, off the coast of Yemen and elsewhere. Each of these separate terror groups now appears intent on carrying out missions that are relatively simple to set up, using local conditions and without the need for the elaborate network for recruitment, funding, training and logistics that hallmarked terrorist operations till September 11, 2001.

If the organisational methods and operational procedures of the terrorist outfits have changed they are still nevertheless of one mind as shown by quite a body of evidence that they are regularly communicating with each other. But that mind too seems to be metamorphosing into a more malignant mode. Such a conclusion seems to be indicated by the manner in which the terror network has widened its choice of targets. A hit list which once comprised largely U.S. citizens and Jews has now been expanded to include Australians, Europeans and the innocent civilians of Bali. Perhaps such a virulent mental makeover was the natural outcome of the process whereby separate outfits with their own special agendas have established such a broad ideological affinity. Now each separate group's enemy has become the enemy of all of the others. For instance, the finger of suspicion in respect of the atrocity in Bali has also been pointed at the Indonesian fundamentalist group, Jameeah Islamiya, as well as nationalists enraged at the forced retreat from East Timor. But even though each of these groups has a separate agenda they are nevertheless believed to be not unconnected to each other or cells elsewhere that claim an affinity with the Al-Qaeda.

Indonesian authorities appear to have finally become alert to the scale of the menace after Saturday's incidents. Other countries of South-East Asia — notably Malaysia and Singapore — which have forcefully cracked down on the terrorist networks have complained for some time about the slackness on the part of the Indonesian authorities. Indeed, till the blast in Bali the Indonesian authorities were not willing to acknowledge the existence of indigenous terrorist groups out of fear that it would irritate the Muslim majority in the country. Following from this concern the Indonesian Government had been most reluctant about endorsing the United Nations Security Council resolutions pertaining to the war on terrorism. Nor had it been very forthright in cooperating with the agencies concerned of other Governments that have been combating this menace. In the context, the very acknowledgement that terrorist groups are very much alive and active in the country has been welcomed as a sign that the Indonesian Government has woken up to its responsibilities. When terror groups are constantly on the lookout for new sanctuaries it is necessary that all Governments do what they can on their own and in cooperation with others to ensure that these marauders have no place to hide.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Critical issues at stake
• A menace becomes more malignant
• Need for a broad-based dialogue in J&K
• Victims look for work
• Kangchendzonga to Kanyakumari
• Does mere survival mean good governance?
• Re-engaging Pakistan
• A President in trouble
• Supplementary order
• Fiscal indiscipline

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu