Terrorism constitutes the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective when innocent people are targeted. ~ Walter Laqueur
Extracted from "A growing terror weapon" fromThe Straits Times March 6, 2009EXTREMIST groups in South-east Asia are increasingly using the internet and social networking to radicalise the youth of the region, said a new security report released on Friday. Internet usage in South-east Asia has exploded since 2000 and extremist groups have developed a sophisticated online presence, including professional media units. The reports also says that 'For extremist groups in our region, the internet is an increasingly important tool for recruitment to violence,' and that 'Importantly, they aren't attacking only the West, but are drawing on their narrative to attack the governance arrangements of regional states.' Between 2006 and July 2007, radical regional websites have disseminated Al-Qaeda and South-east Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah propaganda videos, pictures and statements.
What is Transnational Terrorism?
Transnational Terrorism refers to acts of violence which are global in terms of their aims, organization and impact. Terrorists are groups that deliberately use violence to create fear among people in order to fulfil their political objectives.Impacts of Transnational Terrorism
Economic impact
The impact of transnational terrorism can be economic in nature. When there is a terrorist attack, lives are lost, buildings destroyed and businesses lost. The government has to spend huge amounts of money to rebuild the country and this means that other areas of development in the country will be affected. Moreover, there is loss of earnings for many people involved in the travel and tourism trade as many tourists avoid travelling to a country that has suffered a terrorist attack. This could lead to loss of employment as well as closure of businesses. Terrorist attacks put additional economic strain on the government, which is expected to help individuals adversely affected by terrorist acts.
Social impact
One of the aims of terrorists is to disrupt the daily lives of the people living in the country as well as cause problems for the government. Terrorist acts can adversely affect peaceful relations among the races in multiracial societies. Some consequences of the 11 September terror attacks in the United States were attacks on members of certain ethnic groups. If unchecked, this could have the potential of developing into riots between different ethnic groups. . Such terrorist acts also have the potential to cause certain ethnic groups to feel targeted as they might be singled out for increased security checks or viewed suspiciously by others in the community. This might cause a feeling of alienation as well as unhappiness among this group of people.
Political impact
Governments have a responsibility to keep their citizens safe from terrorists. As a result, governments have had to tighten various controls such as stepping up border security to ensure that terrorists do not slip into the country. These border security measures involve greater check on travellers’ identities and belongings, slowing down immigration clearance as a result. Intrusive legislations aimed at countering terrorism have also been introduced. Critics argue that these measures and laws infringe on individual freedom and personal privacy. Indeed, the transnational terrorism threat has generated much debate on the trade-off between security and freedom.
What is the most serious impact?
The most detrimental impact to Singapore is the social impact. Although the economic losses caused by terrorist acts can be tremendous, these can be minimised through assistance from the government, international organisations or sympathetic governments. The country will be able to rebuild itself and its economy after some time has passed. The social impact is most detrimental as it results in the loss of human lives, the cost of which is immeasurable to the families involved. No amount of monetary aid will be able to compensate for the loss of lives.
Measures to manage Transnational Terrorism
ASEAN’s effort to manage terrorismTerrorism is seen as a direct challenge to the achievement of peace, progress and security in ASEAN. As such, ASEAN governments have pledged their determination to cooperate against the transnational terrorists through joint police and intelligence measures.
For example, ASEAN has pledged to enhance information and intelligence exchange on terrorists and terrorist activities. This has helped member countries to disrupt terrorist activities on their soil. In January 2002, the Philippine authorities arrested the JI bomber-maker Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi based on information provided to them by Singapore. The members also used the ASEAN Regional Forum to discuss transnational terrorism issues. In January 2007, ASEAN leaders signed, The Convention on Counter-terrorism to legally bind their commitment of their national security and law enforcement agencies to work closely to fight the threat together.
International Efforts to Combat terrorism
The UN passed a series of resolutions in a bid to stop terrorism. The resolutions aimed at getting all member countries to freeze the financial assets of terrorists and their supporters, deny them travel and safe haven, prevent terrorist recruitment and weapons supply, and cooperate with other countries in information sharing and criminal prosecution. The UN also set up a Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor member countries adherence to the resolutions as well as to strengthen the counter-terrorism capacity of UN member states. The committee also provides technical assistance to countries that require help in implementing the resolutions. Member countries have managed to freeze more than US$200 million of terrorist funding. Through the sharing of information among members, more than 4000 terrorist suspects have been arrested.
Nurturing an environment that censures terrorism
All members of society have a role to play in countering the threat of terrorism. Terrorist narratives are typically founded on ideas of hate and enmity. Many of these ideas also glorify the use of violence, and instigate and falsely sanction a person to commit such acts. There must not be any ambiguity in society’s stand against these ideas that fuel terrorism. If a society does not firmly, unequivocally and actively reject these ideas being propagated by terrorists, the ideas may slowly gain legitimacy. Every individual has a role to play to deny the terrorists space in society.
What is the best way to combat terrorism?
Despite regional and international efforts, the international community has not been completely successful in getting rid of the threat of Transnational Terrorism. Today’s terrorism cannot be dealt with just by arresting the terrorist operatives. Terrorists have been able to recruit new operatives to replace those who have been arrested or killed. Terrorist recruitment continues to take place because the terrorists are able to spread extremist and terrorist ideology in a globalizing world where communication technologies like the Internet can be exploited. It is therefore crucial that society play its part to counter such radical and extremist influences by nurturing an environment that censures terrorism. Every individual has a role to play to deny the terrorists space in society.
How important is deterrence and diplomacy in maintaining international relations among nations?
The latest incident in which a terrorist Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a Northwest Airline flight on Christmas Day is a reminder that terrorism is still very much a real threat to all of us. Luckily his plan was thwarted by fellow passengers who pounced on him. According to a report from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1032750/1/.html, Osama bin Ladin claimed responsibility for the botched Christmas Day bombing of the US airliner and said strikes on US targets will continue, in an audio statement broadcast Sunday on Al-Jazeera satellite television.
"The message that was conveyed through the (attacked) plane of the hero Umar Farouk (Abdulmutallab) is to stress earlier messages delivered to you by the heroes of the 11" September attack on the United States, he said. "That (message) is, that America should not dream of security until we enjoy it as a reality in Palestine," he added.
Although the authenticity of the audio statement is yet to be verified whether it is Osama's but I think you can infer from the statement above that we should continue to see terrorism as a real threat and that everyone of us play a part in creating an environment that censures it.
