|
September
2005 | Issue 004
Welcome
to the fourth edition of the African Terrorism Bulletin. The
quarterly newsletter is produced by the Organised Crime and
Corruption Programme of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
The aim is to provide balanced information, analysis and critical
perspectives regarding news on terrorism and counter-terrorism
strategies on the African continent.
The information in this
and future African Terrorism Bulletins will be based on ‘open
source’ information. 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. Different sections
focus on terrorism in the news, state responses and critical
perspectives. Most of the information focuses on issues around
terrorism as they relate to the African continent, yet, due to the
transnational nature of the phenomenon, issues from further afield
are not ignored.
Comments, contributions and critiques from
our readers are encouraged. Please feel free to pass this newsletter
on to anyone who you think may be interested in the content of the
African Terrorism Bulletin. To subscribe please send an e-mail to terrorism@issct.org.za .
East Africa’s terror
ties
UN Security Council
leaves Somalia arms ban intact
Egypt hit by the worst terrorist attack since
the 1980s
Study: AIDS a greater
global security threat than terrorism?
Alleged terror financier operates in plain
sight
Mozambique detains
Pakistani nationals with huge stash of cash
Zambia deports terror suspect to
Britain
Draft anti - terrorism
legislation approved in N igeria
SARPCCO to set up border intelligence
system
Mauritius and South
Africa sign convention against nuclear
terrorism
New UN resolution on
terrorist ‘incitement’
South Africa leads Financial Action Task
Force (FATF)
East African states
embark on counter-terrorism drills
“Africa needs to develop its
navies”
Comoros ratification of
anti-terrorism conventions in the pipeline
Southern Africa: Strategic base for
international terrorism?
ISS seminar: Terrorism in sub-Saharan
Africa
ISS seminar: Terrorism in
Africa
PAGAD: A case study of
radical Islam in South Africa
After London: Reassessing Africa’s role in
the War on Terror
Survey on South African
attitudes towards tolerance, security and
terrorism
ISS vacancies in Addis
Ababa: IGAD Counter-Terrorism Project
Since
the distribution of the last edition of the African Terrorism
Bulletin, the world has witnessed terrorist attacks on the London
transport system. The attacks left 56 people dead, and more than 700
injured. In the current edition of the newsletter, we take a look at
the African connection to the London bombings.
Three of
the chief suspects held in connection with the failed London bombings on 21 July were born in East
Africa (refer to “East Africa’s
terror ties” in the ‘Top Story’ section). The country of birth of
the suspects may be coincidental, but this is the topic of another
debate. In July 2005, Zambian authorities captured and deported to
the United Kingdom, alleged mastermind of the London bombings Haroon
Rashid Aswat (read “Zambia deports terror suspect to Britain” in the
‘State Responses’ section), also accused of plotting to set up a
training camp in Bly, Oregon in 1999. Investigators found that Aswat
had spent time in South
Africa, and had travelled to
Botswana and
Mozambique before his
arrest.
The link of terror suspects to the African continent
has reopened the old debate of whether developing countries in
Africa and elsewhere in the world
provide sanctuary for international fugitives and terrorists.
Readers are encouraged to follow up on the debate in the ‘Critical
Perspectives’ section.
In the aftermath of the July bomb
blasts in London, there has been renewed
concern around the scope and success rate of global anti-terrorism
measures. Opinion polls showed that an overwhelming majority of
Britons (86% of those questioned) would support tough new measures
to reduce the threat of attacks after the London
bombings. According to a Guardian/ICM poll, almost three-quarters of
the UK population
are happy to give up civil liberties in order to make
Great
Britain safer from terrorist
attacks. It is perhaps not surprising then that the London
bombings led to British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s announcement of
a series of new anti-terrorism measures. These include the
deportation of foreign nationals who claim that the use of “violence
to further a person’s beliefs” is acceptable, as well as measures
authorising the denaturalisation of British citizens who engage in
“extremism”.
Government and opposition parties in the
UK have forged
broad agreement on the political response to the London
attacks. Three significant laws were agreed in principle. A new
offence of “acts preparatory to terrorism” will give law enforcement
officials more scope to deal with those they suspect of extremism. A
law banning the “providing or receiving of terrorist training” is
aimed at terrorist training camps in foreign countries. Perhaps the
most controversial and dramatic law will be the prohibition on
glorifying or inciting terrorism (compare with the story “New UN
resolution on terrorist ‘incitement’” in the ‘State Responses’
section).
Yet, tougher anti-terror laws bring with them a
surrender of certain basic freedoms that citizens in liberal
democratic states are accustomed to. This may for example include
infringements on freedoms of association, religion, media and
expression, and basic rights to privacy and a fair trial.
N
igeria is in the process of passing anti-terrorism legislation into
law; while many other countries on the African continent are in the
process of developing dedicated anti-terror laws. Before agreeing to
tough anti-terrorism measures, African people should make sure that
the laws are designed to fight terrorism, and terrorism alone. There
is a danger that state authorities use anti-terror laws to persecute
minorities (Zimbabwe) or majorities
(the apartheid government). Mindful of this practise, in many cases
it may suffice to domesticate obligations as set out in the thirteen
international conventions dealing with terrorism.
East
Africa’s
terror ties
August
3 2005 - Reports that three of the chief suspects held in connection
with the failed London bombings on 21
July were born in East Africa have
once again put the region in the spotlight.
Connections
between East Africa and al Qaeda
have long been established. There are frequent reports of terror
cells operating in the sub-region, especially in Somalia. The links to al
Qaeda date to 1991, when Osama bin Laden set up training camps in
Sudan before
moving to Afghanistan.
A new
report by the Belgian-based think tank, the International Crisis
Group (ICG), details a new al Qaeda linked group in
Somalia. Ethiopian Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi also talks of an active al Qaeda cell in
Somalia. The leaders of
al Ittihad al Islamia (AIAI) were trained in Afghanistan. The group
has been blamed for kidnapping foreign aid workers, and carrying out
a number of assassinations in Somalia.
ICG
analysts identify extreme poverty, lax security, porous borders,
proliferation of weapons and the growing influence of Islamic
extremists as key to rendering the Horn of Africa a fertile
recruiting ground for terrorists. Thus, terrorist networks are said
to be attracted to the Horn of Africa and East
Africa because conditions in emerging democracies allow
terrorists a level of freedom that enables them to move around
undetected.
East Africa has suffered three deadly al Qaeda
linked attacks since 1998, including the US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. A 2002 suicide
bombing of a tourist resort in Mombassa coincided with a separate
missile attack against an Israeli airliner in Kenya. In 1993, members
of the Somali terror group, al Ittihad, took partial credit for
downing two US Black Hawk helicopters in the Somali capital
Mogadishu, an incident that led to
the eventual pull-out of US forces from Somalia.
The ICG
states that “the threat of Jihadi terrorism from Somalia can only be
addressed through the restoration of stable, legitimate and
functional government”. Hence, a successful counter-terrorism
strategy requires helping Somalia with the twin
tasks of reconciliation and state building.
The report has an
interesting by-line though: Few Somalis are said to believe that
there are terrorists in their country, and many regard American
counter-terrorism initiatives as an assault on Islam. Unidentified
surveillance flights, the abduction of innocent people for weeks at
a time on suspicion of terrorist links, and cooperation with
unpopular faction leaders all add to public cynicism and resentment.
Hence, without public support, even the most sophisticated
counter-terrorism is doomed to failure.
Download
the ICG Report No.95 “Counter-Terrorism In Somalia: Losing Hearts
and Minds?”
Read the
News24.com article
Read the
Guardian Unlimited article
For further
reading on terrorism in the Horn of Africa and East Africa:
Download
the US Institute of Peace Special Report “Terrorism in the Horn of
Africa”
Download
the Foreign Service Journal article “Fighting Terrorism in East
Africa and the Horn”
Read the
Voice of America article
Read the
Scotsman article
UN
Security Council leaves Somalia arms ban
intact
July
15 2005 - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has turned down
a request by the African Union (AU) to lift an arms embargo against
Somalia. The AU had
requested an exemption from the 1992 weapons embargo, so it can
bring arms into Somalia for a
peacekeeping force that would also protect the country’s
transitional government. The estimated 10 000 troops would derive
from seven East African nations. Despite the arms ban, weapons
continue to flow unchecked across Somalia’s borders.
Nonetheless, the Security Council welcomed the peace initiative from
the AU, but remained strict in its request for a detailed plan of
the peacekeeping operation before reconsidering.
Read the
Alertnet article
Egypt
hit by the worst terrorist attack since the
1980s
September
2005 - Egyptian authorities have launched a sweep of the Sinai
Peninsula to track those behind a string of bomb attacks in the
Sinai Peninsula. Hundreds of
suspects are reported to have been arrested, since 3500 police
officers began their search. On July 23, 2005, multiple suicide
bombings rocked through shopping and hotel areas in the popular
Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheik,
killing 88 people and injuring more than 200. In the worst attack in
Egypt since 1981, two
co-ordinated car bombs went off simultaneously about 4km apart. A
third bomb went off a few minutes later near a beachside walkway,
where tourists often stroll at night. Three groups issued competing
claims that they were behind the bombings. A group citing ties to al
Qaeda, calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades made
its claim in a statement posted on a website. Hours later, a
previously unknown group called the Holy Warriors of Egypt made
the same claim, and so did the Unity and Jihad Group.
Egyptian investigators have found a possible link with a
series of bombings at the Red Sea
resort community of Taba in October 2004. The perpetrators employed
the same strategy and planning as during the first wave of attacks.
Officials also pointed to similarities in the timing and choice of
target. Both attacks struck during a busy holiday season and in
areas packed with foreign tourists.
Sharm el-Sheik has
expanded in recent years, making it a major player in
Egypt’s vital tourism
industry. The lucrative tourism has slowly recovered since the last
attack; it is feared that the latest bombings will deal it a fresh
blow.
Read the
aljazeera.net article
Read the
Mail & Guardian article
Read the
Mail & Guardian
article
Study:
AIDS a greater global security threat than
terrorism?
July
23 2005 - According to a study conducted by the Council on Foreign
Relations (CFR), the global AIDS pandemic is a greater threat to
international security than terrorism. The study further notes that
countries, which are severely hit by this epidemic, are likely to
suffer socio-economic and political turmoil, which could impact on
neighbouring countries. Thus, the security of the most affluent and
powerful states could be affected by the ability of the poorest
states to contain the pandemic. The study identifies AIDS as an
“enormous stressor that is aggravating the laundry lists of
underlying tensions in developing, devolving and failed
states.”
US national security advisors have rejected the
findings of the study. James Robbins of the National
Defence University maintained that
AIDS was not a security threat but a health problem. He cited the
example of South
Africa and Botswana, two of the
countries hardest hit by AIDS, yet they are among the continent’s
most stable countries.
Download
the CFR study
Read the
Advocate.com article
Read the
Post-Gazette.com
article
Alleged
terror financier operates in plain sight
June
30 2005 - A N igerian entrepreneur, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, and his
international business interests continue to operate unimpeded
despite being designated by the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions
Committee and the US Treasury Department in August 2002 as a
financial supporter of Al Qaeda. In November 2001, US President Bush
announced freezing the assets of Nasreddin’s bank, Al Taqwa. It was
alleged that the Al Taqwa association of offshore banks and
financial management firms have helped al Qaeda to shift money
around the world. The UN designation of Nasreddin as a terrorist
financier placed an international legal obligation on all countries
to freeze his assets and economic resources and to ensure that no
funds, financial assets or other economic resources were made
available to him, or for his benefit. These designations also listed
a number of Nasreddin's business interests. The funds and resources
of these entities were to be frozen. But despite these restrictions,
little has been done to put him out of business. A few of his bank
accounts were frozen, notably in Switzerland, but no further steps
were taken to close down any of his business activities. He
continues to operate numerous companies and business ventures in
Europe. Nasreddin has denied ever financing terrorism. He is
believed to have fled his native Ethiopia and resettled permanently
to N igeria. From there, he operates and expands his business
interests including land development and housing construction. He
serves as the chairperson of the NASCO Group with headquarters in
the northern N igerian city of Jos. In fact, a suburb of Jos has
been named NASCO TOWN, with a principal street bearing the Nasreddin
name.
Read the
MSNBC article
Read the N
igeria Village Square
article
Mozambique
detains Pakistani nationals with huge stash of
cash
June
30 2005 - The Mozambican police have apprehended four Pakistani
nationals, suspected of attempting to export US $240,000 out of the
country. The four suspects were arrested in the district of
Nhamatanda, on the road from Beira to the Zimbabwean border. One of
the suspects, a shop-owner in Beira and Tete claimed that the money
belonged to him. Abdul Vayani stated that it was unsafe to leave the
money in his Beira home. Many Muslims do not use the formal banking
system, as their religion does not allow them to accrue interest on
their earnings. Interestingly enough, the suspect declared that only
US $ 140 000 were his, while the remaining money belonged to a
Pakistani national, Atif Polami, who resides in Dubai. Vayani
claimed that the money was collected from Mozambican traders and was
entrusted to him by Polami. Law enforcement authorities have not
ruled out terrorist financing.
Read the
Migration News article
Zambia
deports terror suspect to Britain
August
07 2005 - Zambian authorities arrested the alleged mastermind of the
London bombings, Haroon Rashid Aswat, on 20 July 2005, after he
entered the country on 6 July 2005. Aswat was tracked down in Zambia
after a tip-off was received from the US anti-terrorism unit. The
suspect’s mobile phone had received about twenty calls from the
London bombing suspects. Furthermore, a charge filed before a New
York court accused Aswat of seeking to establish a terrorist
training camp in a remote area in the north-western US state of
Oregon, hostage taking in Yemen and funding terrorist training in
Afghanistan. Aswat has been on the run since 1999. Following his
arrest in Zambia, British officials were anxious to interview Aswat
because of concerns that he could be taken to one of the centres
where the US holds terrorists. Martin Mubangu, a British Muslim, was
similarly arrested in Zambia in 2002 and taken to the US detention
camp in Guatanamo Bay, where he was held without charge until his
release in 2005.In the end, Zambia deported Aswat, who is a British
citizen, back to London on 7 August 2005. The central African nation
turned down a US request for Aswat’s extradition, citing that the
suspect was a British national, and it would hence be proper to hand
him over to the British government.
UK authorities detained
the suspect upon his arrival in London after being deported from
Zambia. In the aftermath of Aswat’s arrest, it transpired that
American intelligence officials attempted to seize the terror
suspect in South Africa a few weeks earlier, and secretly shift him
to an undisclosed third country for interrogation. British officials
were unwilling to participate in the controversial American policy
of the “rendition” of one of their own citizens. Usually,
“rendition” involves moving detainees to US-friendly Arab countries
such as Egypt, where local interrogators are said to use torture to
extract information.
Read the
Forbes article
Read the
BBC News article
Read the
Mail & Guardian article
Read the
Globe and Mail article
Read the
Voice of America
article
Draft
anti - terrorism legislation approved in N
igeria
September
01 2005 - N igeria’s cabinet has approved a draft anti-terrorism law
and sent it to the National Assembly for consideration and enactment
into law. N igeria has never been a victim of international
terrorism but a number of domestic groups have been involved in the
ethnic, political and sectarian violence, which has left more than
20 000 people dead in the past six years.
Only a partial copy
of the draft bill has been made available to the public. Under the
new law anyone convicted of a terrorist offence can be sentenced to
up to 35 years in jail. In addition, the director general of the
state security service, the country’s feared security police, would
be able to ask a federal judge to ban an organisation if two or more
people are deemed to have come together to commit, prepare or
promote acts of terrorism. The draft bill employs a wide definition
of terrorism. According to the Information Minister, Frank Nweke,
the draft bill represented a proactive measure to tackle terrorism
by the N igerian government, and was not born out of pressure from
the United States government.
Read the
Africast Global Africa Network article
Read the
news24.com article
Read the
This Day article on
allafrica.com
SARPCCO
to set up border intelligence system
August
03 2005 - The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation
Organisation (SARPCCO) will set up a border intelligence body. This
was announced by SARPCCO acting chairperson, the Angolan
Commissioner of Police José Alfredo Ekuikui at the end of the tenth
annual conference of the organisation held in the Angolan capital of
Luanda in early August 2005. Members states have agreed to
strengthen cooperation on combating cross-border crime in the
region. This will include the mutual exchange of information and
joint law enforcement operations at common borders. Each SARPPCO
member country is required to outline appropriate measures on the
prevention of cross border crime and exert the necessary control
over crime within its borders.
Meanwhile, Kenyan National
Security Minister John Michuki has requested police chiefs in East
Africa to tackle terrorism and proliferation of small arms in the
region. Michuki appealed to police chiefs attending the 7th Eastern
Africa Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (EAPCCO) in the
Kenyan port of Mombassa to address cross-border theft of motor
vehicles and cattle rustling. He also pledged conference delegates
to conceive of resolutions, which would facilitate the extradition
of fugitives.
Read the
Angola Press article
Read the
Angola Press article
Read the
East African Standard article on
allafrica.com
Mauritius
and South Africa sign convention against nuclear
terrorism
September
15 2005 - Mauritius and South Africa have signed the International
Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which
opened for signature on the 14th September 2005. The two African
countries have joined 61 nations from around the world in
acknowledging the danger of terrorists gaining access to nuclear
weapons. The Convention obliges governments to punish those who
illegally possess atomic devices or radioactive materials. Based on
an instrument originally proposed by the Russian Federation in 1998,
it provides a definition of acts of nuclear terrorism and covers a
broad range of possible targets, including those against power
plants and nuclear reactors. Under its provisions, the alleged
offenders must be either extradited or prosecuted. Furthermore,
states are encouraged to cooperate in preventing terrorist attacks
by sharing information and assisting each other in connection with
criminal investigations and extradition proceedings. The treaty
needs to be ratified by at least twenty-two states before it becomes
international law.
Read the
News24.com article
Read the
story in the last African Terrorism
Bulletin
Download
the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism
New
UN resolution on terrorist ‘incitement’
September
04 2005 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a
resolution urging states to take action against those who “incite”
terrorism. The resolution also requires states to deny safe haven to
anyone involved in terrorism and to strengthen travel controls to
combat movement of terrorists. The resolution arose from a British
initiative, spurred on by the country’s response to terrorist
attacks on the London transport system in July. The resolution also
calls upon all states to continue efforts to enhance dialogue and
broaden understanding among cultures to prevent indiscriminate
targeting of different religions. Furthermore, it stresses that
states must comply with international human rights law, refugee law
and humanitarian law.
Read the
Gulf News article
Read the
globalsecurity.org
article
South
Africa leads Financial Action Task Force
(FATF)
July
01 2005 - South Africa has assumed presidency of the 33-nation
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The
inter-governmental body was established by the G-8 in 1989 in
response to mounting concern over money laundering and in
recognition of the threat posed to banking systems and financial
institutions worldwide. Former South African education minister,
Kader Asmal, will serve as the president of the FATF until June
2006.
Read the
Diamonds.Net article
East
African states embark on counter-terrorism
drills
September
2005 - Hundreds of troops from Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda joined up
in an East African Community (EAC) counter-terrorism exercise at the
Karen Defence College, south of Nairobi. Around 150 officers and
more than 100 soldiers participated in Operation “Trend Marker”
which aims to boost the sub-region’s ability to combat terrorism.
Anti-terrorism officials from the United States and observers from
Rwanda and Burundi, who have applied to join EAC, also
attended.
Read the
article on the Horn of Africa
website
“Africa
needs to develop its navies”
August
29 2005 - At a recent symposium on sea power in Africa, South
African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils recommended that Africa
should develop its navies to a level where the continent could
combat international terrorism, drug smugglers and piracy. The
number of pirate attacks worldwide has tripled in the past decade,
and new evidence suggests that piracy is becoming a key tactic of
terrorist groups. Delegates from 24 African navies were attending
the three-day symposium held in Cape Town. According to Kasrils,
maritime and naval power was more important today than in the past
for Africa, which depended heavily on sea-borne trade. Offshore oil
and gas resources also had to be protected. In addition, there was
no hindrance to terrorists attacking maritime targets such as
harbours. There could be no development without security on the
continent. There hence was a need for navies to participate in
peace-support operations, during which they were a key element in
transporting forces, conducting surveillance and supporting ground
forces. Given the fact that Africa had an enormous coastline and
small navies, countries should exchange military intelligence and
information.
Read the
News24.com article
Additional
information from Foreign
Affairs
Comoros
ratification of anti-terrorism conventions in the
pipeline
July
18 2005 - The Indian Ocean archipelago, the Comoros, has announced
its intention to ratify five international conventions on
counter-terrorism by end of the year. Speaking at a seminar on
security in the Indian Ocean region, Comoros Attorney General Jaffar
Ahmed announced that the measures would be submitted to parliament
for approval as part of the islands’ contribution to the US-led
campaign against terrorism. Comoros has attracted the attention of
US investigators following the trail of a suspected al Qaeda agent.
Comoran-born Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is accused of organising the
1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and an
attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in the Kenyan port of Mombassa.
Fazul was reportedly seen in Comoros in October 2004, but this was
difficult to verify due to Comoros’ limited intelligence
resources.
Read the
Emergency Net News article
Southern
Africa: Strategic base for international
terrorism?
One
terror suspect sold Islamic CDs and DVDs at flea markets outside
Johannesburg, South Africa. Another worked at a hamburger outlet,
blending into a country where international fugitives abuse the long
porous borders, opportunities for money laundering and forged
passports for sale. The arrests of two alleged terrorists, a US
embassy bomber and a man accused of plotting to set up a training
camp in the United States, have international and national
authorities investigating whether al Qaeda is using southern Africa
as a base to raise funds, recruit supporters and provide logistical
support for global attacks.
In July 2005, Zambian
authorities captured and deported to the United Kingdom Haroon
Rashid Aswat (read “Zambia deports terror suspect to Britain” in the
State Responses section), accused of plotting to set up a training
camp in Bly, Oregon in 1999. Investigators found that Aswat had
spent time in South Africa, and had travelled to Botswana and
Mozambique before his arrest. In 1999, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed was
arrested in Cape Town and deported to the United States. He has been
jailed for life for his role in the 1998 bombings of the US
embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The Tanzanian had entered South
Africa under an alias, got a temporary residency permit, and worked
at a hamburger place for months until he tried to renew his permit
and got caught.
There are a few other examples in the
sub-region. Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that South African
security forces, opinion and government leaders warn that the region
must step up anti-terrorism measures or it could become a target
itself. South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils voiced
his concern: “There are groups in Africa that claim to be part of al
Qaeda and other structures, and here in southern Africa they have
been discovered seeking refuge and quite possibly attempting to set
up networks.”
Wanted terrorists like Aswat and Mohamed are
said to blend into South Africa’s diverse population. The country
has modern banks, good roads, airlines and telecommunications, which
could prove useful when planning for terrorist activities. South
African government officials acknowledge that al Qaeda suspects and
their associates have obtained South African passports in the past,
which allow travel to many African countries and the United Kingdom
without visas.
Traditionally failed or anarchic states were
linked to housing terrorists and other fugitives. Yet, empirical
data seems to disprove this. Richard Cornwell from the Institute for
Security Studies (ISS) maintains that terrorist cells would not base
themselves in failed states such as Somalia. Terrorist groupings
would rather choose to operate from within open and multi-racial
societies such as South Africa with a huge population of immigrants.
They would be on the look out for countries with a stable
infrastructure (finance and communication so that they keep in touch
with each other) and organisational sophistication.
Furthermore, South Africa has well-developed financial and
banking sectors with links to developed countries. These offer
exploitable opportunities for the laundering of money, which may be
used to finance terrorist attacks. South African points-of-entry
(ports, harbours, airports) are not properly guarded, which creates
another favourable condition for terrorists to penetrate the
country’s security system.
Whether southern Africa, and
South Africa in specific, is more attractive to terrorists than
other sub-regions on the African continent is a question of opinion,
as there is no data to corroborate this. In a world, where
globalisation has become order of the day, it is suffices to say
that no country can claim to be unaffected by transnational criminal
and/or terrorist elements.
This
section is mostly based on the UK Guardian
article
For further reading on the
topic:
Read the
GlobalSecurity.org article
Read the
Voice of America article
Read the
Business Day article
Read the
Mail&Guardian article
ISS
seminar: Terrorism in sub-Saharan Africa
The
ISS is hosting a seminar on 3 October 2005, 10h30, at its Pretoria
offices. Professor James Lutz from the Indiana University-Purdue
University will present a review of terrorism in sub-Saharan
Africa.
Visit the
ISS website for more
details
ISS
seminar: Terrorism in Africa
A
further ISS seminar entitled “Terrorism in Africa: African Union’s
Perception of the Threat and Measures to Prevent and Combat
Terrorism” is presented on 18 October 2005, 10h00 at the Pretoria
offices of the ISS. H.E. Ambassador Abdelhamid Boubazine, the
director of the African Centre for the Study and Research on
Terrorism (ACSRT) will speak on the role, structure and activities
of the Centre in light of the perceived terrorist threat. Martin Ewi
from the African Union (AU) will provide an overview of the threat
of terrorism on the continent and the role and activities of the AU
in the prevention and combating of terrorism.For more details,
visit
Visit the
ISS website for more
details
PAGAD:
A case study of radical Islam in South Africa
Anneli
Botha contends that the threat of Islamic terrorism to South Africa
is real. Aside from the possibility of an al Qaeda strike against US
and other Western interests in the country, there are a number of
indigenous Islamic networks that have the potential to engage in
terrorist activities on their own or in conjunction with
international terrorists. In this paper, the emergence, evolution
and threats posed by People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) is
highlighted.
Download
the paper contained in the Terrorism
Monitor
After
London: Reassessing Africa’s role in the War on
Terror
Kurt
Shillinger argues that the current War on Terror has taken on global
dimensions; with Africa being one of the key theatres in this
struggle. No US strategy that fails to reckon with Africa’s role can
be successful. According to Shillinger, the Bush administration and
its allies are coming to realise this but have yet to address the
full implications of the problem.
Download
the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
paper
Survey
on South African attitudes towards tolerance, security and
terrorism
Research
Surveys conducted a telephone study in July 2005 to probe attitudes
and perceptions amongst South Africans towards issues around
tolerance, security and terrorism.
Download
the Research Surveys
study
ISS
vacancies in Addis Ababa: IGAD Counter-Terrorism
Project
The
ISS plans to open an office in Addis Ababa to implement an IGAD
project on countering terrorism in the sub-region. The following
positions are available: Head of Project, Senior Legal Analyst,
Senior Counter Terrorism Expert, Senior Training Coordinator and
Field Researcher. The closing date is 15 October 2005.
Visit the
ISS website for more details
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 component which is located within the ISS Organised Crime
and Corruption programme in Cape Town and funded by the Royal
Norwegian Government.
Annette
Hübschle (Researcher: Terrorism and Organised Crime) - annette@issct.org.za
Mxolisi Makinana (ISS Research
Intern)
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
Please
contact terrorism@issct.org.za to
be added to or removed from this mailing list.
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