Pressure on British Govt. to crack down on expatriate terrorists

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, DEC. 29. Pressure is mounting on the British Government to crack down on expatriate terrorist groups such as those involved in anti-India activities and, on Thursday, a Member of Parliament's Select Committee on Home Affairs said a line must be drawn between democratic political campaign and terrorism.

Mr. David Winnick, who is also a Labour MP, said Britain ``should not under any circumstances be a safe haven for any sort of terrorist activities''. He said while he agreed that people had a right to put across their point of view, ``I draw the line at actively promoting activities that could be described as terrorism.''

His statement followed a spate of media stories highlighting the activities of terrorist groups based in Britain amid reports that the suicide-bomber responsible for the killings in Srinagar on Christmas day was a British citizen.

While there was no official confirmation of his identity, newspaper reports gave his name as Mohammad Bilal (who operated under the assumed name, Abdullah Bai), a Pakistani boy brought up in Birmingham and recruited by a Pakistani terrorist outfit. He carried out the Srinagar attack on behalf of a new splinter group Jaishe-Mohammed, it has been reported.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, a Muslim cleric who claims to recruit volunteers for ``jehad'' around the world, has claimed ``credit'' for ``discovering'' Bilal.

He told The Times on Thursday that Bilal's parents were proud of his ``sacrifice'', but did not want to disclose his identity for fear of police action. ``They worry that their house will be attacked... it is not safe for them to reveal their son's true identity,'' he said pointing out that the family did not want to be identified as Muslim fundamentalists.

He also claimed that Bilal's brother and several of his cousins were also working for the same outfit.

Sheikh Mohammed, who came into prominence for recruiting ``Mujahideens'' for Afghanistan, Chechnya and West Asia, said Mohammed Bilal was not the real name of the bomber.

He described him as a ``conscientious student'' and he was recruited by a group called al-Maddad which he (Sheikh) finances.

About 2,000 ``volunteers'', he said, were recruited in Britain every year by various groups to fight ``holy'' wars around the world. Bilal was in and out of Britain during his training in Pakistan, according to him.

Over the years, Birmingham, a predominantly Asian area, has become a major centre of terrorist groups' activities and in recent months a number of people have been arrested in police raids.

But under the existing laws, fund-raising and recruiting volunteers for political or religious campaigns does not constitute an offence.

However, a new and more stringent terrorism law is in the offing and the Government is said to be preparing a list of groups which would be targetted once the new law comes into force in February.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, fund-raising and recruitment of volunteers would constitute a breach of law, if it is proved that such activities are part of a conspiracy to `export' terrorism. The Home Office has vowed to enforce the new Act strictly.

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