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Death by terrorism: regional counterterrorism responses

By Jo Coghlan - posted Wednesday, 31 August 2011


Acts of domestic terrorism in Laos have included ambushes and bombings. Laos does not have a separate counterterrorism law, but the Lao judicial system allows for the prosecution of acts of terrorism as crimes under the Lao criminal code. Laos' border security is weak and border delineation remained poor in remote sections along the borders of Vietnam and China. In accordance with its obligations under UNSCR Resolution 1373, the Bank of Laos does get government and commercial bank holdings for possible terrorist assets, as identified by U.S. provided lists of terrorist organisations and individuals, and issues freeze orders.

By 2009 Malaysia had not initiated prosecution of any terrorist suspects using legislation amended in 2007 in order to accede to the U.N. International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, but continued to rely on the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain terrorist suspects. Under the ISA, the authorities can detain suspects without trial for up to two years, a period the Home Minister can extend in two-year increments. Five terrorist suspects linked to JI are currently held in ISA detention. In 2009, the Malaysian government released 39 ISA detainees, 29 of whom were alleged members of terrorist organisations JI or Darul Islam. Malaysian authorities cooperate with their Thai counterparts along the border to prevent insurgents from Southern Thailand from using Malaysia as a safe haven.

Terrorist groups active in the Philippines included the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the New People's Army (NPA), the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) and JI. Philippine authorities killed ten ASG members and 165 NPA members in 2009. Those apprehended included an RSM cofounder in Mindanao. Kidnappings, associated with both criminal and terrorist groups, continue in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. On 15 January 2009, ASG members kidnapped three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Data on terrorist incidents in the Philippines however is limited. Widespread kidnappings and civilian violence can be attributed to criminal activity unrelated to terrorism. The 2007 Human Security Act, which provides counterterrorism tools for law enforcement, by 2009, was still not in effect. 

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Since December 2001, more than 50 people with links to terrorist groups were detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act (ISA) for involvement in terrorist-related activities. Detainees included members of JI who had plotted to carry out attacks in Singapore and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Mas Selamat Kastari, the Singapore leader of JI, has recently been recaptured by Malaysian authorities since his escape from detention in Singapore in February 2008. Indonesian authorities also recently captured two Singaporean JI fugitives, Husaini Ismail and Samad Subari. Husaini was one of five Singaporean JI members involved in a failed 2002 plot to hijack a commercial airliner and crash it into Singapore's Changi International Airport.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and, therefore, is not subject to Security Council resolutions. Nonetheless, Taiwan sought to implement, to the maximum extent possible, all U.N. resolutions related to combating terrorism and terrorist finance issues. There have however been at least 20 terrorist attacks on Taiwan since 1979, including 13 aircraft hijackings and five bombings. Thailand officials have long expressed concern that transnational terrorist groups could establish links with southern Thailand-based separatist groups but there have been no indications that this has occurred. Yet, the ethno-nationalist separatist insurgency in Thailand's southernmost provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala continued in 2009. Some 4 000 people have been killed in the conflict since the violence escalated in 2004 with a campaign of assassinations, beheadings, and coordinated bombings using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Levels of violence rose in 2009 with larger explosive devices employed.

Thai security forces attributed nearly all the attacks in the south to insurgents. How much of the violence is attributable to crime, or political disputes, is unclear. In the past, Thailand has served as a transit point for regional terrorists, as evidenced by the 2003 capture in central Thailand of Nurjaman Riduan bin Isomuddin, JI's operations chief and the architect of the 2002 Bali bombings. Thailand participates in international counterterrorism efforts through its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Regardless, in July 2011, the Obama administration put Thailand on its terrorist risk list.

Does counterterrorism work?

Does counterterrorism work? If counterterrorism is a set of measures designed to reduce harm for non-combatants then there is some evidence that with decreasing deaths, counterterrorism measures are effective. If another aspect of counterterrorism is to apprehend terrorists and shut down terrorist cells, evidence-based answers are unclear. If counterterrorism is the promotion of democracy grounded in universal values of liberty and equality (as the European Council Framework decision on combating terrorism in 2002 stated) then counterterrorism measures have not been as successful.

While less people are dying from terrorist acts, arguably as many people - if not more - still live in fear, and many are continually denied freedom and equality.

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About the Author

Jo Coghlan is a lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Southern Cross University.

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