TerrorismCentral Newsletter
-- For the week ending May 12, 2002 --
AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff
TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - May 12, 2002
SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, May 12, 2002
TEXT:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter
-- For the week ending May 12, 2002 --
Apologies to our readers for the late receipt of the Newsletter this week. This is due to ongoing problems we have had with our outsourced email provider. We are investigating alternatives that will provide us with a more robust service, so that we can deliver the same to you.
Last week, Burma made a significant gesture towards rejoining the international community. We discuss their freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi, the background and the future challenges involving the international community. Sierra Leone has also moved towards a more peaceful society with their first elections in nearly ten years. In most of the world, though, violence has increased. Hostilities in the Middle East have not lulled with a temporary halt to military actions in Israel and the occupied territories -- conflicts in Algeria continue to exact high tolls. There was a massacre in Colombia, and devastating bombs or explosions in Kashmir, Lebanon, Pakistan, Philippines, and Russia. Rebel activities in Uganda have led to extraordinary brutalities, affecting tens of thousands of children in Uganda and Sudan. Summaries of these events are provided in the News Highlights below.
As always, this edition of the Newsletter is linked to selected data from the TerrorismCentral Library.
CONTENTS:
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:
1. Africa
2. Americas
3. Asia Pacific
4. Europe
5. Middle East
6. South Asia
7. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
8. Finance
9. Human Rights
10 Law and Legal Issues
11. Narco-terrorism
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published
FEATURE ARTICLE:
Burma in the News
1. Africa
As part of efforts to promote peace in the Congo, a United Nations (UN) Security Council team visited Burundi, a country that has also been deeply divided between majority Hutus and minority Tutsis.
The border between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been temporarily re-opened, allowing movement by the UN peacekeeping forces. Ethiopia says it is waiting for additional information before reopening the border permanently.
Kenya, following a trend that has become commonplace in Africa, has a new law that restricts the media by requiring government approval of publications.
In Liberia, heavy fighting has taken place while the UN has renewed sanctions for another year. Sanctions bar arms, diamond sales, and travel by the leadership. Liberia has funded the war with diamond sales. Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel forces have taken control in many towns in the center of the country. Tens of thousands have fled into the countryside, many taking refuge in Monrovian camps.
For the second time, Marc Ravalomanana of Madagascar has been sworn in as President, a result that incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka has not accepted. Clashes continue: another bridge has been blown up, and the capital is still under blockade by Ratsiraka sympathizers. African negotiators are finding progress difficult.
Malis first round of presidential elections has been reviewed by their Constitutional Court. They have cancelled over half a million votes, almost a quarter of all votes cast, because of various irregularities. This has not changed the overall result. The runoff election will be held on Sunday. Opposition parties have rallied around General Amadou Toumani Toure, against the ruling partys candidate Adema Cisse.
Presidential elections are due in Sierra Leone on May 14, the first in the last decade of civil war.
The Puntland semi-autonomous region of Somalia has fallen to Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed, the former President who refused to be replaced by Jama Ali Jama, who had been selected, by tribal elders, to replace Colonel Yusuf.
Around fifty Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been killed by Ugandan soldiers operating in Sudan, under an agreement between the two governments.
Talks regarding the suspect presidential election in Zimbabwe have been postponed, with the government citing pending litigation and media attacks.
2. Americas
Canadian troops have conducted additional investigations in Afghanistan, finding some weapons but no al Qaeda or Taliban fighters.
Violence in Colombia is spreading. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels battling the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) killed 117 civilians, nearly half children, when they mistakenly mortar-bombed the church in which they had taken refuge. Meanwhile, in a diplomatic setback, the US Embassy suspended drug aid due to misappropriation of $2 million.
Preparing for former US President Jimmy Carters visit to Cuba, Cuban President Fidel Castro has rejected accusations that they have been developing biological weapons.
The remarks about Cuban biological weapons capacity came in US Under Secretary of State John Boltons speech "Beyond the Axis of Evil" in which he added Cuba, Libya and Syria to the "axis of evil".
The US Government also spent time last week working on the relationship of foreign students to terrorism. A new tracking system will become mandatory next January. However, the suggested ban on studies of some science and technology subjects is being reconsidered. A new board will be established, the Interagency Panel on Advanced Science and Security, to explore security risks related to students of these topics. In related activities, the House approved legislation for increased border security and tougher immigration enforcement.
Aided by tracking the position of his cellular phone, the FBI arrested suspected mailbox bomber Luke Helder. Residents of Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Texas found a total of 18 pipe bombs in their mailboxes. There were six injuries. Mr. Helder claimed he was planting the bombs in such a way as to resemble a smiley face.
For the first time in 40 years, the US and India plan joint military exercises.
3. Asia Pacific
An anti-terrorist agreement by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines allows them to share intelligence and police resources to operate jointly against regional militants.
In Burma, joyous crowd greeted opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi upon her release from house arrest.
Indonesia has arrested Jafar Umar Thalib, leader of the Laskar Jihad Islamic militant group. Hundreds of protested have rallied against the arrest. Meanwhile, in Aceh, separatist rebels continue peace talks with the Indonesian government. The eastern Moluccas islands continue to see sectarian conflicts. These have led to Indonesia saying it will expel thousands of Islamic militants active there.
North Korea cancelled talks with South Korea regarding economic cooperation, offended by remarks by South Koreas foreign minister on a visit to the US.
In the Philippines, joint US training exercises have ended.
4. Europe
Jacques Chirac won the French election handily and has appointed center-right senator Jean-Pierre Raffarin prime minister.
The Netherlands was shocked by the assassination of Pim Fortuyn, leader of an anti-immigrant party, the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF). The assassin was an environmental activist named Volkert van der Graaf.
An explosion from a remote-controlled land mine during a Victory Day celebration in Russia left 34 dead, including 12 children. Chechen rebels were blamed.
In Spain, supporters of the Basque separatist party Batasuna marched to protest a draft law that bans any political party that supports terrorists. Supporters deny links to ETA.
Violence continues in north Belfast, with several nights of riots and other disturbances. A pipe bomb exploded in a playgrounds litter bin. Also in Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, gave evidence to the Bloody Sunday inquiry. In other inquiry testimony, a journalist testified that an IRA official had fired shots. Regarding the Omagh bombing, Irish police say it is ludicrous to suggest that intelligence on Real IRA activities had not been communicated.
Scottish police arrested six men under the Terrorism Act. Four will appear in court on terrorist charges.
The former president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, continues with the war crimes tribunal. He is questioning the Kosovan President, Ibrahim Rugova.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Bashar Assad of Syria met over the weekend to discuss the Saudi peace initiative, confirming the plan to recognize Israel in exchange for its withdrawal to its pre-1967 borders. Their affirmation helps keep alive the wavering hopes of a revived peace process and the continued engagement of the US.
Al Jazeera television station must be doing something right. After being accused as a mouthpiece of bin Laden for broadcasting his speeches, they have now been banned from reporting inside Bahrain, accused of bias towards Israel.
In Algeria, Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) militants ambushed government soldiers, killing 15. The violence continues while the parliamentary election campaign has begun, with elections scheduled for May 30.
Bahrain has held its first elections in three decades. For the first time, women were allowed to vote, although female candidates won no seats.
In the occupied Gaza Strip, 26 Palestinian militants who had been occupying the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem were greeted as heroes as they entered Gaza after being exiled from their homes in the occupied West Bank. Israels preparations for military action in Gaza, following a suicide bomber that originated from Hamas militants in the area, have been put on hold.
Iraq, with no support from other countries, has resumed its oil exports amid accusations that oil revenues are being diverted from humanitarian to military purposes. The United Nations has agreed on a new set of sanctions that make it easier to help civilians while still discouraging development of weapons of mass destruction.
Israels Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is under extraordinary pressure as suicide bombings by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have revived, demonstrating to both peace activists and the right wing of his Likud party that the recent military actions in the West Bank have not achieved their stated goal. Following the latest suicide bombing that killed 15. Israel had prepared for action in Gaza, only to put it on hold after alleged intelligence leaks compromised their position. Mr. Sharon has also visited Washington DC, finding little common ground with US President Bush, who insisted on the continued participation of Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, despite Israels production of putative evidence as to his personal involvement in terrorist activities.
Libya has categorically denied US allegations that it is developing weapons of mass destruction, seeing the accusation as disturbing the improved relations with the west it has been seeking.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have drawn back. The militants who had occupied the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem were finally released under an agreement that exiled 13 to the European Union, starting with Cyprus, 26 to the Gaza Strip, and non-combatants were either freed or deported. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Program and others have assessed the damage to the West Bank at $300 million, requiring over a year to repair.
British and Canadian troops searching the mountains and caves of Afghanistan have uncovered weapons, but encountered no military resistance. US troops have experienced rocket attacks. Violence between the traditional warlords is still a threat against peace and the future of the country. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a missile strike against former Afghan prime minister and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyr, who escaped.
In India, federal intervention in Gujarat is on the way as sectarian violence continues. More than 900, mostly Muslims, have been killed in the last two months. A force of a thousand riot police has been provided to supplement the state police.
The Peoples War Group (PWG), a communist rebel force, announced a unilateral one month ceasefire in Andhra Pradesh, whose Chief Minister, Chandrababu, called for peace talks. The PWGs fight for a communist state has led to more than 6,000 deaths since it began 22 years ago.
For the first time in 40 years, the US and India plan joint military exercises.
Nepal continues its assault against Maoist rebel bases, but have had to undertake limited retreats because of lack of manpower and resources. In the last week at least 250 rebels and 100 security forces were killed. An email purported to come from the rebels offering a truce was denied by the rebels and rejected by the government.
A suicide attack on a bus in Karachi, Pakistan, has killed 15. Al Qaeda is suspected. Pakistani security forces have increased their activities, focusing on foreign nationals, and arresting at least 300 suspected militants.
Pakistan is now hosting US troops hunting al Qaeda and Taliban.
7. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
Microsoft has warned its MSN Messenger users of security vulnerabilities in its chat program.
Actions against tax havens continue, driven by anger over fraud and lack of transparency that in the US is epitomized by the Enron case. To cut down on tax losses, a bill in the US congress would prevent companies from reincorporating offshore.
According to intelligence reports prepared in the UK, Saudi supporters of bin Laden continue to provide funding to al Qaeda. (Financial Times, May 8)
Israel has provided what it says is conclusive evidence that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has funded suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks.
9. Human Rights
To international criticism, the US has formally renounced the International Criminal Court Treaty
The governor of the US state of Maryland has imposed a moratorium on the death penalty, due to suspected racial bias.
10. Law and Legal Issues
Mohdar Abdalllahs attorney asked that immigration charges against him from last fall be dropped. The prosecutors responded by filing additional charges of aiding terrorists. He is alleged to have provided supplies, money, and socialized with three of the September 11 hijackers.
Fahad al-Hajri was arrested for helping foreign students fraudulently stay in the US. He is suspected of relations with al Qaeda.
Roland Bartetzko, a German national, has been found guilty of murder and terrorism for a bomb attack in Pristina, Kosova that killed four. The Kosovan court sentenced him to 23 years.
Agus Budiman, held for seven months for identity fraud but accused of links to al Qaeda, has been freed. He was sentenced to the seven months he had already served but cleared of any links to the September 11 attacks.
Bobby Frank Cherry is on trial for the 1963 church bombing in Alabama, that killed four black girls.
The US General Accounting Office (GAO), investigative arm of the US Congress, returned a list of immigrants who had been detained after the September 11 mass arrests. The list had been provided by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which the Justice Department (DOJ) has now retrieved. Court hearings between DOJ and a number of groups who want the names published continue. Up to 1,000 people have been detained.
Volkert van der Graaf, a Dutch environmental activist, has been charged for the murder of Pim Fortuyn, leader of an anti-immigrant party, the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF).
Luke Helder, a 21-year-old student, faces federal charges in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska for 18 mailbox bombs planted across five states.
John Walker Lindhs judge is pressing prosecutors for Lindhs lawyers to be allowed to interview fellow detainees who may offer evidence in his defense.
Amar Makhlulif, a suspected al Qaeda leader, has his extradition to the US on charges related to the Millennium bombing plot, approved by a UK judge. He denies the five charges and is considering an appeal against the extradition.
The Daniel Pearl trial continues, with a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent testifying about evidence he found linking the accused to al Qaeda.
Indonesia has arrested Jafar Umar Thalib, leader of the Laskar Jihad Islamic militant group.
11. Narco-terrorism
In Colombia the US Embassy suspended drug aid due to suspected misappropriation $2 million that was diverted by the anti-narcotics police. General Gustavo Socha, head of the anti-narcotics police, has been reassigned while the Colombian government addresses the fraud.
Across the US, the National Guard has been replaced by police officers. Instead of local police, private security guards may be used in some cases.
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
In testimony to the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Federal Bureau of Investigatin director Robert Mueller testified that the "Amerithrax" investigation of anthrax-contaminated letters was not stalled. He said "Every day we receive new leads in regard to additional individuals and we have an ongoing very thorough laboratory investigation undertaken."
Cuba has categorically denied allegations by US President Bushs administration that is is engaged in production of biological weapons.
New United Nations sanctions on Iraq have been designed to provide greater access to civilian aid still inhibiting the ability to develop of weapons of mass destruction.
Libya has categorically denied allegations by US Undersecretary of State John Bolton that it is developing weapons of mass destruction.
Russia and the US plan to form a joint task force to secure radioactive materials in the former Soviet Union so they cant be used to contaminate bombs. Agreement on missile defense and arms reduction is also on track.
Dray, Philip. At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America. Random House
Mackey, Sandra. The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein. Norton
Mowlam, Mo. Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People. Hodder
Burma in the News
Last week the media was full of reports regarding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. This week, we take a look at the history and current context of this story and why it is important.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was born in 1945, the daughter of General Aung San. In 1945, with the end of World War II, the Japanese army that had occupied Burma since 1942 was defeated by British troops helped by the Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League (AFPFL), led by Aung Sun.
Liberation from Japanese occupation didnt mean that Burma was independent; it was still a crown colony of Great Britain. Aung San led the interim government, but was assassinated by nationalist rivals in 1947. The following year, Burma gained its independence. The AFPFL was the ruling party, and U Nu its prime minister.
In common with other former colonies, the country of Burma was created from somewhat arbitrary geographical lines that incorporated a number of different groups. Variety persists today. The largest ethnic group is Burman (related to Tibetans), followed by Chinese. There are also large groups of Chin, Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan and other minorities. The dominant religion is Buddhism, followed by close to 90% of the population. Thousands of pagodas and other symbols of Buddhism dominate the ancient towns and wooded countryside.
Under U Nu, separatist movements among the minority groups were tolerated, despite the strong opposition of the military. In 1962, the military took action against U Nu. Following a coup led by General Ne Win, a single-party state led by the military was formed. Military rule has continued ever since, though it is now channeled through a "Peoples Assembly" now called the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) . Not surprisingly, the regional minority groups combined to orchestrate guerilla insurgencies against centralized military rule.
The next three decades saw the imposition of discriminatory laws against minorities, the violent repression of large-scale anti-government riots, the imposition of martial law, the arrest of thousands of political prisoners, and economic collapse -- with the exception of the drug trade.
[In 1989 Burma was renamed. In Burmese, it is called Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw, which is translated as Union of Myanmar -- which is why Burma is also called Myanmar.]
The general election of 1990 gave a landslide victory to the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) under the leader ship of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military junta ignored the election results. Instead of handing over power, they placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Her house arrest lasted from 1989 through 1995, was imposed again in September 2000, and finally ended last week.
During her imprisonment, Aung San Suu Kyi became a symbol of peaceful resistance, in the spirit of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Gandhi. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Human rights violations by the military government include political and other extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and degrading punishments, rape, arbitrary detention and exile, arbitrary interference with the judiciary system and private lives, restrictions on the media and foreign visitors, use of excessive force, restrictions on travel and meetings, trafficking of women and children, forced labor, and many other abuses.
The international community has applied pressure for reform with isolation and economic sanctions that have led to a prolonged economic crisis. Once an international rice exporter, Burma now suffers food shortages. Unemployment and inflation have spiraled while the value of the currency has plummeted. Crime is on the rise. There is a major drug addiction problem, with an estimated half-million heroin addicts. In turn, this has led to an epidemic of HIV infection.
Faced with the threat of further sanctions, the military junta, began secret discussions with Aung San Sui Kyi in 2000, mediated by the United Nations (UN), and freed a few hundred of the political prisoners. Burma also joined Thailand in an effort to end the narcotics trade in theGolden Triangle.
Burma wants to rejoin the international community. In order to lift trade restrictions and begin international aid and investment, the UN and its member countries have looked for political concessions and improvements in the human rights situation.
Aung San Suu Kyis release is a key concession and the first breakthrough in the negotiations.
Isolated as Burma is, its problems are not merely internal or regional. There are many areas that involve the international community, including ethnic and border conflicts, the narcotics trade and money laundering, the use of forced labor, and weapons proliferation.
Ethnic and border conflicts:
Burma borders Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and China and also borders a major sea link with India. There are ongoing border disputes, particularly with Thailand. In these neighboring countries and along the border areas, there are over a million refugees, including forcibly displaced ethnic minorities.
Thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees fled in the face of land confiscation, torture and forced labor and are now living in impoverished camps in Bangladesh. Conflicts within the camp and with the outside community are frequent. Ethnic Shans use the border between Thailand and Burma to further their movement with violent attacks and bombings at the border. Last year, the tension at the Thai/Burma border was so high that the two countries were on verge of war.
Other active ethnic groups include the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Union (KNU), several Shan factions, and the United Wa State Army (UWSA). The UWSA has also engaged in bombings, particularly at the Thai border.
There is no sign that Burma is prepared to take the refugees back, or to allow minorities to be integrated into Burmese society. However, recent outreach efforts by the military junta have led to improved relations with their neighbors. China continues to be Burmas closest ally, but has joined in efforts to improve the human rights record because of fears that the military regime had become too unstable.
The narcotics trade:
Burma is the second largest supplier of opium, right behind Afghanistan, and also a major regional methamphetamine supplier. It continues to be a central force in international trafficking and money laundering.
Forced labor:
Burma has recently introduced measures to end forced labor, but these have had a limited impact. The international community, aware of the use of forced labor including children, and continued trafficking of children and women, has maintained trade sanctions and a number of private groups encourage boycotting of goods produced in Burma until the labor conditions are significantly improved.
Proliferation:
Burma spends 40% of its budget on the military. In January, it announced plans to work with Russia to open a nuclear research facility. Russia will supply materials and training. Supplying fissile material to an unstable military regime that governs a country full of experienced smugglers and money launderers opens potential security concerns.
With all of these challenges ahead, the government has a long way to go. It is in the interest of the international community to help. It is in the interest of the military rulers to engage the democratic support of their citizens. Only with a unified effort can this damaged nation return to full, productive and peaceful participation in the world at large.
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TerrorismCentra
PUBLICATION DATE:
May 12, 2002
DATE:
20020512