Terrorism 9/11 the UK and other democracies - Essay Example

Responding to Terrorism Rachna Jalan “Responding to terrorism post 9/11 – an assessment of the major issues facing the UK and other democracies” Overview The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 followed by the March 11, 2004 trauma has left behind a deep sense of apprehension and panic (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). The nature of those atrocities and the subsequent responds are leading to transformation of the ways by which such clashes were solved previously (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). In fact, “the trauma of September 11, as well as the counter-terrorism measures that followed, have signalled a dangerous shift in the legal paradigm, leaving behind an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear; either of being attacked by terrorists or persecuted as a result of these attacks” (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Therefore, “democratic and human rights-based response to terrorism is necessary if we are not to be drawn back to the violence and brutality of previous eras” (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Major issues facing the UK and other democracies & their responses Governments do respond to terrorism with a series of innumerable approaches but recognizing ‘what works’ is the most significant task. The United Kingdom responded to the atrocities of the September 11 2001 by introducing the Anti-Terror, Crime and Security Act 2001 (The Muslim Council Of Britain 2004). The United Kingdom is facing serious threats constantly from the al Qaeda (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) The brutal acts of 11 September 2001 has added further to the threats making it more difficult to handle (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Another heinous act, the recent suicide car bomb attack on a theatre crowded with Westerners in Doha, Qatar has roused more alarm (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Iraq has taken up the place of Afghanistan in offering a dangerous training ground to the terrorists (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) The issue that is bothering the UK is that the neighbouring states of Iran and Syria are neither putting sufficient efforts to discourage terrorism in Iraq and Israel and nor are they availing themselves of the aid offered by the UK government in abolishing terrorism (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) The issue has already been raised with the Syrian Foreign Minister in October 2004 and the Secretary General of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rouhani, in December 2004 (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005). The United Kingdom ranks amongst the most active Member States in offering information to Europol (House Of Lords 2005). According to Mr. de Vries, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, the United Kingdom has been playing its role to the maximum in EU counter-terrorism work (House Of Lords 2005). The UK not only supports the EU’s task of counter-terrorism by contributing considerable amount of valuable information and intelligence but also by offering its long experience of anti-terrorism work and the synchronized structures it has produced as a reply to terrorism (House Of Lords 2005). The efforts of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) play a crucial role (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) .The Government should therefore offer sufficient resources and powers for promoting the effectiveness of the CTC (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) In spite of holding promise, the European Union anti-terrorism measures are actually proceeding with very low pace, which is why the Government is recommended to acquire improved co-ordination at the EU level (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Areas of the Sahel which could be used for terrorist or criminal activities pose a serious threat which can be overcome by joint efforts of the Government and the EU along with international partners ensuring greater co-operation between regional states and aid with capacity building where appropriate (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Maghreb is strategically significant for the United Kingdom and at the same time Algeria, Morocco and Libya play a crucial role in the international war against terrorism (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Due to fragile bilateral security relations it has been recommended to improve security relationship with each of Algeria, Morocco and Libya (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Also, migration from Maghreb to Europe has been identified as a serious problem as it encompasses criminal networks that target the desperate people leading to terrorist funding (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) It is therefore important that the Government acquires increased EU involvement in migration from the Maghreb (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) It is equally important that the Government work with the countries of the Maghreb to locate the connections between commercial and human flows that support contraband activity leading to the fuelling of terrorist groups (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) In spite of the indomitable efforts made for eliminating the threat of terrorism in Algeria numerous terrorist gangs still exist posing serious threats to Algerians and foreigners alike (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) This reflects connections between these gangs and al Qaeda through the ‘Afghan connection’ rousing international alarm through Algerian events (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) This existence of considerable and long-standing connections between the prevailing terrorists in Algeria and the informal economy and crime has necessitated the working of the Government with the Algerian Government both bilaterally as well as through EU to encourage and help the Algerian Government to deal with smuggling, money-laundering and other types of illegitimate economic activities associated with terrorism (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Morocco has been a victim of violence due to a number of domestic factors, which are still to be addressed, and which might contribute to terrorism (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Hence, the Government is recommended to work with the Government of Morocco in eliminating terrorism and violence (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) The aim of spreading democracy in eradicating the root causes of international terrorism has brought attention to the situation in Libya, which is matter of great concern (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Libya is actively co-operating in the war against terrorism and therefore it is important for the Government to support this co-operation by bringing back Libya into the international fold (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) Counter-terrorism legislation has mushroomed all around the globe and numerous countries along with democracies have taken up draconian laws (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). According to the member states of the United Nations the prevailing legal structure is not yet sufficient to new types of worldwide terrorism and therefore special steps are required to implement the ‘war on terrorism’ (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Governments of numerous countries like India, Guyana, Jordan, Morocco, the USA and Zimbabwe have launched new capital offences pertaining to ‘terrorism’ (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Following the 11 September 2001 attack, a number of new laws have been passed by the UK authorities in spite of the existence of the strictest ‘anti-terrorism” laws in Europe (Agenda for Real Security 2006). In the aftermath of the July bombings in London, Prime Minister Tony Blair declared on 5 August 2005, “Let no one be in any doubt. The rules of the game are changing” (Agenda for Real Security 2006). The government had already started changing the rules much before then (Agenda for Real Security 2006). The list of measures encompassed a new Terrorism Bill currently before Parliament (Agenda for Real Security 2006). The Council of Europe Convention supports the state parties to it according to whom application of the criminal law would be the best means of tackling the participants of terrorist activities (Russell & Hunt 2006). The states are being encouraged to set up certain criminal offences encompassing public provocation to commit a terrorist crime (Russell & Hunt 2006). According to The National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty) the members of terrorist deeds should be prosecuted and sentenced (Russell & Hunt 2006). The fact that some of the suspected associates of terrorism are being subjected to control orders rather than direct prosecution according to the Liberty is an issue which requires urgent attention (Russell & Hunt 2006). Of late, the development of the relationship between the police and the security service has been the most significant change in counter terrorism in UK (Clarke 2007). The recent introduction of regional Counter Terrorism Units is a significant step forward which is undoubtedly expected to rise potentials to respond to the astuteness generated by the Security Service and to examine works of terrorism (Clarke 2007). The negative impact of Anti-terrorism – Erosion of Human Rights UK’s actions in response to the attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 has provided improved force in the wearing away of human rights in the name of ‘war against terrorism’ (Agenda for Real Security 2006). The list of measures that were outlined following the July bombings attacks in London expressed as countering terrorism actually reflected a threat on human rights, the freedom of the judiciary and the rule of law (Agenda for Real Security 2006). A number of strategies that have been prepared by the chief worldwide members for countering terrorism are biased and not clear (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Minor suspicion is leading to strong ground for detention without even providing the alleged ‘suspect’ an opportunity to prove his innocence (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Hoards of people are being suspected and taken into custody simply due to their religious views, nationalities or political opinions (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). A need to recognize the religious ideologies abused and misrepresented by terrorist groups has been identified (Foreign Affairs Committee 2005) The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has raised strong objections for the use of evidence derived through torture (The Muslim Council Of Britain 2004). According to the MCB such acts declines the moral high ground of the government and encourages exploitations of Human Rights (The Muslim Council Of Britain 2004). Numerous governments’ strategies for migrants and asylum seekers are experiencing negative impact (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Even the scholars and visa applicants are being looked upon with suspicion (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). The Anti-Terror, Crime and Security Act 2001reflects various counter-terror measures which encourages violation of human rights (The Muslim Council Of Britain 2004). “As a consequence, the ill-defined and open-ended nature of the ‘war on terror’ has strained international legal principles and systems” (The International Summit On Democracy 2005). Hence, it is important for the UK authorities, prior to prepare or implement a strategy on anti-terrorism, to realize that respect for human rights is the route to security and not an obstacle to it (Agenda for Real Security 2006). Conclusion Off late the increasing number of terrorist attacks such as the one in USA (2001), Madrid (2004) and London (2005) has grossly increased the tensions of the policymakers. These catastrophic events have challenged the emergency respond and raised eyebrows on the capability of the authorities and policy makers. Creativity and improved preparation and training are the vital elements of resilience. Absolute incision of terrorism from its roots at the very moment might appear to be an unrealistic dream. The positive execution of carefully laid out plans for complete eradication of terrorism is surely expected to show green signal for accomplishing the conspicuous target that the UK has set and dreamt of. The 11 September 2001 incident followed by the London bombing in 2005, has raised great concerns for the UK government for the safety of its innocent people. Since then a series of measures and legislations have been passed by UK’s policy-makers and other authorities as a respond to counter terrorism. The joint approach of the EU along with the UK authorities is significantly contributing in the ‘war against terrorism’. However, in the urgency of outlining tough measures for eradicating terrorism, violation of human rights has also emerged. Hence, we conclude that preparing and implementing counter terrorism in a balanced manner is the call of the day. Bibliography “Agenda for Real Security: United Kingdom: Human rights: a broken promise”. (2006). Amnesty International, Canada. Clarke, Peter. (2007). Learning From Experience – Counter Terrorism in the UK since 9/11. UK. http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/libimages/252.pdf, accessed 29th May 2007. Foreign Affairs Committee. (2005). Foreign Policy Aspects of the War Against Terrorism: Sixth Report. Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. http://www.amnesty.ca/realsecurity/news/view.php?load=arcview&article=3293&c=Real+Security+Reports, accessed 29th May 2007. House Of Lords: European Union Committee. (2005). After Madrid: the EU’s response to terrorism. Report with Evidence. London. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldselect/ldeucom/53/53.pdf, accessed 29th May 2007. Russell, Jago & Hunt, Ethan. (2006). Liberty’s response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights: “Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism”. Liberty, UK. III. Club de Madrid, Madrid. The Muslim Council Of Britain. (2004). Government Discussion Paper: Counter-Terrorism Powers: Reconciling Security and Liberty in an Open Society. UK. http://www.mcb.org.uk/library/ATCSA.pdf, accessed 29th May 2007. The International Summit On Democracy, Terrorism And Security. (2005). 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