COLOMBO, 21 October 2007 — Frightening figures of 40 terrorist attacks a day throughout the globe should prompt the entire world to adopt counterterrorism measures in their respective countries and regions, observed Dr. Gerard Chaliand, former director of European Center for the Study of conflicts.
He was speaking to a packed audience at the Bandaranaike Memorial Cultural Hall (BMICH) in Colombo during the first session of the international conference on “Countering Terrorism”.
Quoting a report from the State Department released in April this year, Chaliand said that 14,600 terrorist attacks have been recorded during the year 2006, up six percent over the previous year. He warned that unless the governments take constructive efforts to control the situation in their respective countries, more innocent people would become victims of this terror menace that threatens the entire world.
Speaking about the LTTE movement, Chaliand said: “The independence they ask for cannot be granted, not only because no state is willing to accept such a blow to its sovereignty but also because, like the Shining Path or the Khmer Rouge, the Tigers under the leadership of Vellupillai Prabhakaran is a totalitarian movement which has transformed its groups into a killing machine.
“LTTE has brutally eliminated all other parties or groups willing to represent the Tamils. It has assassinated all those who were willing to offer an alternative to LTTE’s position, just like Prabhakaran physically eliminated, in his own party, those who could challenge his authority. The manipulation of young boys and girls into fighters who die rather than surrender and the cult of suicide attacks for the most dedicated of the militants for the sake of a movement whose charismatic leader has been transformed into an icon are signs of what the essence is of the movement.”
“An absolutely intolerant sect. No peace seems possible with Prabhakaran as we have seen from the peace process of 2002 and 2005, which was but a tactical truce,” he added.
Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, chairman of French Anti-Terrorist Judges, recalled that on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks Osama Bin Laden, still in hiding and who fuels the strongest speculations about his very existence, has appeared twice on two video recordings that appear to be authentic. “It’s the first time in three years that the Al-Qaeda leader resurfaced to threaten America once again,” he said. “The double message, addressed primarily to the United States, reminds us that today terrorism has become a worldwide phenomenon, a priority on the states’ political agenda.
“Today the fight against terrorism is at the center of every state’s schedule. The worsening of the security situation in the Middle East and at the Afghanistan-Pakistan area increases the risks to world safety and seriously threatens the stability of some states.”
Gen. V.P. Malik, former chief of the Indian Army Staff and chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, said “The important requirement in South Asia counterterrorism activities is to raise the level and confidence of the local population and take voluntary action against terrorists’ activities on their soil rather than to respond to complaints from neighbors.”
“SAARC nations need to stand together and cooperate as counterterrorism partners. Cooperative regional efforts can only produce genuine security improvement, particularly in securing borders and transportation, enhancing document security, disrupting terrorist financing and restricting their movements,” Gen. Malik said.
