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December
2004 | Issue 001
Welcome
to the first edition the African Terrorism Bulletin. The quarterly
newsletter is produced by the Organised Crime and Corruption
Programme of the Institute for Security Studies. The aim is to
provide balanced information, analysis and critical perspectives
regarding terrorism and counter-terrorism strategies on the African
continent.
- “Terrorism in the
news” will update you on news stories on the subject
- “State responses”
provides information on national and regional efforts to fight
terrorism
- A probing and
analytical review will be rendered in the section entitled
“Critical Perspectives”.
The
information in this and future African Terrorism Bulletins will be
based on ‘open source’ information. Despite that, commenting on
developments relating to terrorism remains a sensitive issue. The
Bulletin will endeavour to steer through the different agendas that
form part of the discourse on terrorism in a critical and balanced
way. Comments and critiques from readers will assist us in remaining
on the right path.
AU
anti-terrorism center inaugurated
New AU terrorism
declaration
Who is behind the
Egyptian bombings?
Al Qaeda presence in
South Africa?
FATF issues Special
Recommendation IX
Costs rise as banks fight
terrorist financing and money laundering
Nine-year process to get anti-terror law
draws to an end in South Africa
Selebi outlines priorities as Interpol
head
Francophone countries aim
for compliance with international
instruments
African police may
receive counter-terrorism training in foreseeable
future
SA sets up
counter-terrorism center
Human rights 'being violated in fight against
terrorism'
Anti-terror legislation
and democracy in Africa
Initiatives against terrorism in Africa:
implications for human rights
African commitments to combating organised
crime and terrorism: a review of eight NEPAD
countries
Political dissent and
terrorism in southern Africa
Unholy alliance? Assessing the links between
organised criminals and terrorists in southern
Africa
“Terrorism”
and its ramifications has been on many people’s lips ever since the
tragic events of September 11, 2001. Africa itself has witnessed a
wide array of terror incidents including domestic, state and
international terrorism long before 9/11 ever happened. The embassy
bombings in Dar es Salaam/Tanzania and Nairobi/Kenya spring to mind,
where 258 people lost their lives, and more than 5000 were injured.
Other examples of ‘international’ or ‘transnational’ terrorism
include the simultaneous attacks on the Mombassa-based Paradise
Hotel and an Israeli Arkia jetliner and the spate of suicide
bombings in the Moroccan city of Casablanca in 2003 and the recent
bombings at Egyptian Sinai resort of Taba. As such, Africa may not
have witnessed many incidents of international terrorism, but
domestic or sub-national terrorism and state terrorism have a long
history. Most of the continent suffered from prolonged colonial and
state-sponsored violence throughout the 20th and into the 21st
century, characterised by little regard for humanitarian law.
African people have also been victims of war crimes, including
indiscriminate attacks on civilians and conscription of child
soldiers. Some insurgent movements and government forces still
employ tactics of terror and intimidation. The concept itself has
many a negative connotation on the African continent because of the
historical precedent.
For the purposes of the first issue,
the editorial team deems it necessary to provide its understanding
of the highly-disputed concept of ‘terrorism’ within the parameters
of the newsletter.
The international community has actively
sought consensus on the definition of terrorism for many years.
Twelve separate international conventions on terrorism have been
signed, each covering a specific type of activity linked to
terrorism. Despite UN pressure, broad ratification has been
difficult to achieve. The task of creating a comprehensive binding
international convention against terrorism has proved to be a slow
and tiresome process, as all fails when the question of defining
terrorism is tackled. A major point of friction is whether terrorism
should apply to the actions of states in the same manner that it
applies to the actions of non-state actors.
Defining
terrorism has been a particularly difficult task on the African
continent. In fact, most legal drafters stay clear of defining it
but rather describe an ‘act of terror’ or ‘terrorist activity’. The
35th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government adopted
the Organisation of African Unity Convention on the Prevention and
Combating of Terrorism (Algiers Convention) in July 1999. With the
exception of Zambia and Zimbabwe, all other SADC countries have
signed and/or ratified and/or deposited the Algiers Convention. Up
to date, 46 of 53 AU member states have signed and 34 have ratified
and acceded to the Convention. This seems to indicate a level of
consensus on the continent on what state actors consider to be a
terrorist act. Hence, the definition of ‘terrorist act’ contained in
the Algiers Convention shall be employed as the working definition
for the newsletter. Thus, ‘terrorist act’ relates
to:
(a) Any
act which is a violation of the criminal laws of a State Party and
which may endanger the life, physical integrity or freedom of, or
cause serious injury or death to, any person, any number or group of
persons or causes or may cause damage to public or private property,
natural resources, environmental or cultural heritage and is
calculated or intended to:
(i)
intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce or induce any government,
body, institution, the general public or any segment thereof, to do
or abstain from doing any act, or to adopt or abandon a particular
standpoint, or to act according to certain principles;
or
(ii)
disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to
the public or to create a public emergency; or
(iii)
create general insurrection in a State.
(b) any
promotion, sponsoring, contribution to, command, aid, incitement,
encouragement, attempt, threat, conspiracy, organizing, or
procurement of any person, with the intent to commit any act
referred to in paragraph (a) (i) to(iii).
However,
it is important to note that state terrorism is not considered in
this definition. In fact, the inclusion of state terrorism was a
bone of contention among OAU members when the convention was
drafted. What differentiates the Algiers Convention from others on
terrorism is that in terms of its definition, struggles for national
self-determination are not deemed to be terrorist.
Article
3(1) provides:
“Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1,
the struggles waged by peoples in accordance with the principles of
international law for their liberation or self-determination,
including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression
and domination by foreign forces shall not be considered as
terrorist acts. “
Download
the Algiers Convention
AU
anti-terrorism center inaugurated
October
13 2004 - At the Second High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting on the
Prevention and Combating of Terrorism in Africa held in the Algerian
capital Algiers, Abdelaziz Bouteflika formally inaugurated the
African Center for the Study and Research of Terrorism. The Algerian
president called on all African states to employ tougher measures
against terrorism. The newly launched center will be based in
Algiers. It is mandated to take tougher anti-terror action by
strengthening border control, extradition agreements, intelligence
exchanges and the suppression of terrorist financing. A centralised
and constantly updated database consisting of information on
suspected terrorist groups and individuals, is hoped to improve the
capacity of African states to fight terrorism. Another objective is
the co-ordination and development of anti-terrorism training
programs.
Read the
SABC News report
Visit the
African Center for the Study and Research of
Terrorism
New
AU terrorism declaration
The
same meeting was also mandated to evaluate the progress made in
implementing the 1999 Algiers Convention, its Protocol and the Plan
of Action, and to decide on the best possible follow up. A
declaration emanating from the meeting reiterates the need for all
states to ratify or accede to the Convention and its Protocol. It
encourages the co-operation of regional bodies in the prevention and
combating of terrorism and urged AU members to strengthen
cooperation and partnership with international bodies.
Download
the Declaration of the Second High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting
on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism in
Africa
Who
is behind the Egyptian bombings?
Both
Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have denied any
involvement in bomb blasts at Egyptian holiday resorts in early
October. At least 28 people lost their lives and more than 100
people were injured in the first terrorist incident in seven years
in the North African country. Most of the dead are Israeli
nationals. Israeli officials say they suspect Al Qaeda, while
Egyptian security officials are investigating newly-formed
independent group, which is said to be fighting for a free
Palestine. The biggest of the three attacks happened at the Hilton
hotel in Taba, situated on Egypt’s border with Israel. Taba is the
main crossing point between Israel and Egypt, and popular with
Israeli holiday makers. The bombings are the first major attack on
Israelis abroad since the bombings two years ago in the Kenyan city
of Mombasa.
Read the
BBC News report
Al
Qaeda presence in South Africa?
Over
the past few months the South African and international media has
increasingly focused on an alleged presence of the terror network Al
Qaeda in South Africa. The news began in late May with dual
assertions by the South African National Police Commissioner Jackie
Selebi that five suspected members of al Qaeda had been deported
ahead of the national elections, and that boxes of South African
passports had been seized from an al Qaeda-linked house in London.
The South African Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the
passports were South African, and alleged that they had been
obtained by fraudulent means.
The next blow came when two
South Africans were arrested in Pakistan after a gun battle, which
also led to the arrest of a suspected high-level al Qaeda member,
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. Feroze Ganchi and Zubair Ismael were
arrested July 25th in the small Pakistani town of Gujrat. Despite
initial reports that the pair had designs to attack South African
cities, the SA government denied the allegation saying, “no
information that any particular installation in South Africa is
targeted by al Qaeda,” and reassuring South Africans that they
“could sleep easy.” Two other South Africans were arrested in
subsequent days, one in the US and one in Mexico, for their alleged
ties to al Qaeda.
By late August, South African authorities
had finally gained limited consular access to Ganchi and Ismael.
Though intelligence confirmed that the men had been in the presence
of high-level al Qaeda members, they also concluded that no attacks
were planned against South African targets.
In early October,
it was alleged that Al Qaeda leaders were hiding in South Africa. An
American television news report, citing a CIA report, alleged that
South Africa was among the states wherein “second- and third-tier”
al Qaeda leaders were hiding. South African police confirmed that
they were monitoring individuals “from Cape Town to Durban, from
Eastern Cape to several places in Gauteng.”
This news was
followed with fears that al Qaeda members may be hiding in, even
recruiting from, South Africa’s Islamic theological schools, and a
report that the ‘kingpin’ of the al Qaeda suspects that were
deported prior to the country’s national elections was still at
large in Southern Africa. According to some newspaper reports,
Ronnie Kasrils, the South African Minister of National Intelligence
confirmed al Qaeda’s presence in that country. However, Kasrils was
clear that South Africa was not being “overrun” by al Qaeda and
warned against a “witch-hunt” within or against the country’s
moderate and “stable” Muslim community.
The al Qaeda presence
is not confined solely to South Africa, but news reports would
indicate that individuals with terrorist affiliations might be
operating from elsewhere in the sub-region and beyond. In Malawi, a
business executive was investigated by the CIA on allegations that
he had been involved in smuggling and terrorist financing. Angolan
intelligence authorities say they are on alert after allegations
that al Qaeda-linked individuals had entered the country and were
establishing business ties. There have also been allegations that
Mozambique and Swaziland may be home to al Qaeda
elements.
This analysis is based on the reports listed
below:
The
Namibian, “South Africa Nabs al-Qaeda
Operatives”
The Star,
“Home Affairs’ Link to al Qaeda
Confirmed”
BBC News,
Key al Qaeda Suspect Arrested
The Star,
“ No Need to Panic-govt ”
The
Washington Post, “S. African Detained in Texas May Have Terrorist
Ties; Woman on Government Watch List Entered U.S. Illegally from
Mexico, Was Bound for New York.”
Sunday
Times, “SA Pair Met Top al Qaeda Men:
Kasrils”
Weekend
Sunday Argus, “Al Qaeda Leaders ‘Hiding in SA’
”
Cape
Argus, “SA Fears al Qaeda Men Hiding in Local
Schools”
The Star,
“Kasrils Says CIA Report on al-Qaeda in SA is Nothing
New”
Mail &
Guardian Online, “SA is Not Being Overrun by Al
Qaeda”
Nation
Online, “CIA Investigates Malawian
Businessman”
Angola
Press Agency. “Intelligence Services on Look-Out for
Terror”
FATF
issues Special Recommendation IX
The
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has added a ninth recommendation
to the existing 8 Special Recommendations dealing with terrorist
financing. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the FATF
produced eight policy recommendations. These included the call for
ratification and implementation of relevant international
instruments, the freezing and confiscation of suspected terrorist
assets, reporting of suspicious transactions, evaluation of
alternative remittances and wire transfers and revision of laws and
regulations related to non-profit and charity organisations. The new
measure was passed late in October at a meeting held in Paris. It
calls on states to stop cross-border movements of currency and
monetary instruments related to terrorist financing and money
laundering and to confiscate such funds. The recommendation
stipulates a limit (of 15 000 US Dollar) for undeclared cash that
can be carried across borders. It furthermore proposes control over
cash couriers through intervention of national authorities on the
basis of intelligence or police information.
Download
the FAFT Special Recommendation IX
Download
the FATF Eight Special Recommendations on terrorist
financing
Costs
rise as banks fight terrorist financing and money
laundering
October
27 2004 - In a study conducted by auditing firm KPMG, it was found
that banks globally have increased their spending on measures to
help combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism by over
61%. The KPMG Global Anti-Money Laundering Survey 2004 explores the
range of challenges that banking institutions face in complying with
enhanced anti-money laundering requirements and how they are
responding to the changed environment. South Africa is reported to
be in line with developed countries in terms of the amount they are
spending, however it still lags behind countries such as the US in
combating the financing of terrorism.
Read the
Business Day report at AllAfrica
Download
the KPMG Global Anti-Money Laundering Survey
2004
Nine-year
process to get anti-terror law draws to an end in South
Africa
November
11 2004 - All that is outstanding in the long and cumbersome process
of getting South Africa’s anti-terror legislation in place, is
President Thabo Mbeki’s signature. The Protection of Constitutional
Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Bill has been
nine years in the making. Getting the legislation passed gained
momentum in government circles after the attacks on New York’s Twin
Towers.South African lawmakers have passed anti-terror legislation
in both houses of parliament. However, many civil society actors
remain unhappy with the legislation. Preceding the national
elections in April, the draft bill was put on hold, as trade
unionist organisation Cosatu and others were concerned with certain
clauses. While many restrictive clauses have been removed, including
one classifying strike activity as terrorism, the legislation still
contains controversial clauses. These include the obligation of
citizens to report “as soon as possible” the presence of people
suspected of committing a terrorist act. Failing this, citizens are
liable for an offence under the bill. The bill also creates a host
of new offences and penalties as set out by twelve United Nations
and African Union Conventions.
Download
the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and
Related Activities Act
Read the
Daily News report at IOL
Read the
report in the Dispatch
Selebi
outlines priorities as Interpol head
October
12 2004 - Jackie Selebi, South Africa’s national police commissioner
has been appointed the first African President of Interpol. He has
been the international poling body’s vice-president since 2002. One
of his priorities is the transfer of resources to weaker countries.
This includes the establishment of a center in Africa to pool
information on international terrorism. African member states will
be linked to Interpol’s internal communication system within the
next six months. He also looks to streamline anti-terror legislation
and expand the membership of the international policing body to
include more African states.
Read the
BuaNews report at AllAfrica
Read the
Sapa report at News24
Francophone
countries aim for compliance with international
instruments
27
October 2004 - The Ministers of Justice from across Africa’s
French-speaking states adopted the Port-Louis Declaration on 27
October 2004.The document reiterates the countries’ commitment to
cooperate in transnational crime-fighting and to accede to the
relevant international conventions. These include all twelve
universal instruments against terrorism as well as the United
Nations Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and
Corruption. The Ministers also approved a legislative guide to
assist in the implementation of the terrorism instruments.
More
information from the United Nations Information
Service
African
police may receive counter-terrorism training in foreseeable
future
23
September 2004 - A ‘Commonwealth Workshop on Capacity-Building to
Combat Terrorism’ was held in Nairobi, from the 20th to the 24th of
September, to train prosecutors and law enforcement officials from
Africa on improving their capacity to fight terrorism. The third in
a series of workshops was organised by the Commonwealth
Secretariat’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division. Following
the workshop was a consultative meeting with the heads of police
training colleges to discuss ways of introducing a counter-terrorism
training program into the curricula of police training
institutions.
Read more
about the workshop at the Commonwealth
Secretariat
SA
sets up counter-terrorism center
October
24 2004 - Meanwhile, South African Minister of Intelligence Ronnie
Kasrils has announced the establishment of a National
Counter-Terrorism Center. This is partly in response to the alleged
al Qaeda presence in South Africa, and in an effort to comply with
African Union policy, the center is intended to collate and
co-ordinate information on terrorism. It will be staffed by the
National Intelligence Agency, the SA Secret Service, the SA Police
Service’s Crime Intelligence Division, Defence Intelligence and the
Financial Intelligence Center.
Read the
report from the Sunday Independent at
IOL
Read the
Business Day report at AllAfrica
Human
rights 'being violated in fight against
terrorism'
October
22 2004 - African human rights activists have highlighted the swell
of human rights violations that occur as a direct result of the
international fight against terrorism. The activists, who gathered
for a National Human Rights Institutions forum organised by the
African Union (AU) were alarmed about the frequency and the
proportions of human rights violations in many African countries
since the war on terrorism was launched. It was reported that
innocent people are detained under the banner of being terror
suspects. Participants were concerned that new terror laws would
undermine the rule of law and basic human rights obligations as set
out by the countries’ constitutions. Only 20 of the 52 AU member
states have national human rights institutions in their
countries.
In a communique presented to the AU, the activists
called on national human rights institutions to monitor their
government’s actions as to prevent further erosion of human rights
in the fight against terrorism. AU members that have not established
national human rights institutions yet, were urged to kicks-start
the process, mindful that the institutions should be should be
rooted within the country’s constitution, yet fully independent and
adequately funded. It also requests that the AU set up a bi-annual
conference of national human rights institutions.
Read the
report from the Daily Monitor at
AllAfrica
Anti-terror
legislation and democracy in Africa
Rotimi
Sankore, a N igerian human rights campaigner and co-ordinator of the
Credo for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights notes that
ever since the war on terror began, the protection of basic human
rights had suffered worldwide. According to the author, this was of
particular concern on the African continent, where the introduction
of anti-terror legislation could potentially undermine fledgling
democracies. She notes that corrupt, undemocratic and insecure
government could garner the support of the West by introducing
anti-terror legislation. This legislation may suppress or undermine
both democratic opposition and human rights. N igeria, for example,
sought to revive the notorious Anti-Terrorist Squad that had been
set up by the dictator General Sanni Abacha. In all its years of
existence, not a single terrorist was arrested or prosecuted.
Instead it was used to terrorise the media, human rights community,
the pro-democracy movement and other enemies of the state. The
author lists a few other examples that illustrate the erosion of
human rights consideration with regards to the introduction of
anti-terror measures. Sankore holds that though an unpopular
thought, it would be detrimental to sacrifice democracy in Africa on
the altar of “eradicating Bin Laden and Al Qaeda”. She concludes
that the only way to defeat and keep terrorism and its sympathisers
out of Africa was to strengthen not to weaken democratic
governance.
Read the
report at the Canadian Centres for Teaching
Peace
Initiatives
against terrorism in Africa: implications for human
rights
Charles
Goredema notes in this paper that the Algiers Convention on the
Prevention and Combating of Terrorism acknowledges a potential
friction between anti-terrorism legal instruments and the protection
of human rights. In light of this, the paper suggests that the
ultimate containment of terrorism and the achievement of human
rights should be complimentary aspirations. It highlights the
difficulties for state actors to reconcile the demands of
anti-terrorism policy objectives with constitutionally enshrined
human rights obligations. The paper draws on recent SADC initiatives
and renders comparative references to other regions in which
conditions similar to those in the SADC sub-region exist.
Read the
full report on the ISS website
African
commitments to combating organised crime and terrorism: a review of
eight NEPAD countries
By
Charles Goredema and Anneli Botha
This review considers the
commitments to preventing and combating organised crime and
terrorism by Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, N igeria, Senegal,
South Africa and Uganda. The paper forms part of the outputs of the
African Human Security Initiative (AHSI), a network of seven African
non-governmental research organisations. AHSI aims to measure the
performance of key African governments in promoting human
security.
Read the
review on the African Human Security Initiative
website
Political
dissent and terrorism in southern Africa
By
Anneli Botha
The paper asks why political groups that employ
legitimate forms of political dissent, ultimately may resort to
strategies of violence and terror. The author aims to contribute to
a better understanding of the nature and role of political dissent
in a democracy and of how the state should respond to its various
manifestations.
Read the
paper on the ISS
website
Unholy
alliance? Assessing the links between organised criminals and
terrorists in southern Africa
By
Annette Hübschle
The structural, economic, social and political
weaknesses in the Southern African sub-region, combined with
well-organised and firmly entrenched criminal networks, would
suggest that linkages between organised crime and terrorism are
plausible. The seven case studies discussed in the paper fail to
establish a clear linkage.
Read the
paper on the ISS website
Please inform us of upcoming terrorism
meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, publications and other
developments annette@issct.org.za
The
Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is an applied policy non-profit
research organisation with a focus on human security issues on the
African continent.
This newsletter is produced by the
Terrorism in Africa component which is located within the ISS
Organised Crime and Corruption programme in Cape Town and funded by
the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD).
Annette
Hübschle (Researcher: Terrorism and Organised Crime) - annette@issct.org.za
Anneli Botha (Senior Researcher:
Terrorism)
Nokuthula Mpala (ISS Research Intern)
Michael Rifer
(ISS Research Intern)
Pilisa Gaushe (ISS Resource Center
Manager)
Institute
for Security Studies
67
Roeland Street, Drury Lane, Gardens, Cape Town 8001, South
Africa
Tel +27 (0)21 461-7211 • Fax +27 (0)21 461-7213
www.issafrica.org • terrorism@issct.org.za
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contact terrorism@issct.org.za to
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