Bottom Line
Tackling terror
AFTER 62 hours of shooting and carnage, the terror attack that brought Mumbai to a standstill ended as Indian commandos killed the last gunman on November 29. The attacks on November 26 surpassed all other attacks in their intensity, scale, coordination and execution. They occurred in ten places, including in three posh hotels.
26/11 is India's 9/11. Some say that they were attacking symbols of wealth and of India's global ties and power. Luxury hotels were transformed from calm travel destinations to places of terror and death.
Mumbai is the financial and film capital, and the largest seaport of India. Large industrial companies, such as, Reliance and Tata, and state-owned firms like Air India and State Bank of India have headquarters in the city.
Impact on Bangladesh
A sense of insecurity in the region has been created by the Mumbai attack because it may take place in any country, including Bangladesh. The war on terrorism is a war of "hide and seek." Terrorists are elusive non-state actors, groups without countries or uniforms, and may lie low for years before they act. The principal problem is that terrorism has a global reach. There is a qualitative difference between terrorists of the '60s and those of the '90s. Modern terrorist groups have been recruiting members with expertise in fields such as communication, computer programming and engineering. They also recruit biologists, chemists and physicists as well to make weapons. The Mumbai attacks demonstrate the operational capabilities of terrorists. Bangladesh has a porous border with India and terrorists may sneak into Bangladesh to create havoc. Bangladesh has been a victim of terrorism in the past. In Bangladesh, terrorists are ideological groups with political ambitions. They may include extreme leftwing members and Islamic militants, and have reportedly established connections with criminal gangs, foreign extremists, and smuggling network. They have easy access to lethal arms and weapons and sources of funds are difficult to trace. According to a report, there are 1027 organised criminal gangs and 12 outlawed groups in Bangladesh -- some of them consisting of militants. One of the first serious terrorist attacks in the country was on August 21, 2004 by extremist groups on an Awami League rally in Dhaka that was addressed by its chief Sheikh Hasina, who was wounded. In August 2005, more than 300 explosions took place simultaneously in 50 cities and towns across the country, including the capital Dhaka. An outlawed Islamic group, Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, reportedly carried out the attacks. Six JMB kingpins, including its leader Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were put on trial and later hanged on March 29, 2007. The militants suffered a jolt when the six top leaders of JMB were executed. Reports say this execution has not fully uprooted the terror outfit, which is now trying to regroup under the second rung leadership. In May 2007, bombs went off at railway stations in Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong, causing panic but leaving just one person with minor injuries. Railway officials said leaflets and an inscribed metal plate likely to be linked to the bombings were found at two of the stations. There are media reports that sleeping cells of terrorists are active in different shapes and forms in many places within Bangladesh. Reportedly some of these groups are also trying to send their volunteers to places like Afghanistan for training. This strategy of sleeping cells has made the job of law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh more difficult. The deadly Mumbai attack has underscored the need for vigilance against the surreptitious nature of activities of extremists to prevent terrorist attacks. That includes close monitoring of the movement of people near the border, smuggling of illegal weapons, and unauthorised entry of people. One of the most important aspects of counter-terrorism is the capacity of agencies to identify the infrastructure and network of extremist organisations. Mass awareness of terrorism, media participation, and a partnership between authorities and people need to be established to detect terrorist cells. Strict vigilance seems to be the answer to counter-terrorism because terrorists live within the community. The best source of intelligence on terrorist cells has tended to come from localities and neighbourhoods. More importantly, many analysts say that terror feeds on poverty. The president of the 56th General Assembly, Dr. Hang Seung Soo, in 2002 said that rich nations could no longer afford to be "islands of abundance in an ocean of poverty." The consequences, he said, would be the poorest nations becoming the "the breeding ground for violence." Some may not agree with this, but the bottom line is that global security is inextricably linked with the health of the global economy. Many argue the root causes lie in deprivation, frustration, helplessness and endemic poverty. It is argued that right policies, good governance and participatory democracy may reduce the chance of terrorism in our country.
A sense of insecurity in the region has been created by the Mumbai attack because it may take place in any country, including Bangladesh. The war on terrorism is a war of "hide and seek." Terrorists are elusive non-state actors, groups without countries or uniforms, and may lie low for years before they act. The principal problem is that terrorism has a global reach. There is a qualitative difference between terrorists of the '60s and those of the '90s. Modern terrorist groups have been recruiting members with expertise in fields such as communication, computer programming and engineering. They also recruit biologists, chemists and physicists as well to make weapons. The Mumbai attacks demonstrate the operational capabilities of terrorists. Bangladesh has a porous border with India and terrorists may sneak into Bangladesh to create havoc. Bangladesh has been a victim of terrorism in the past. In Bangladesh, terrorists are ideological groups with political ambitions. They may include extreme leftwing members and Islamic militants, and have reportedly established connections with criminal gangs, foreign extremists, and smuggling network. They have easy access to lethal arms and weapons and sources of funds are difficult to trace. According to a report, there are 1027 organised criminal gangs and 12 outlawed groups in Bangladesh -- some of them consisting of militants. One of the first serious terrorist attacks in the country was on August 21, 2004 by extremist groups on an Awami League rally in Dhaka that was addressed by its chief Sheikh Hasina, who was wounded. In August 2005, more than 300 explosions took place simultaneously in 50 cities and towns across the country, including the capital Dhaka. An outlawed Islamic group, Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, reportedly carried out the attacks. Six JMB kingpins, including its leader Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were put on trial and later hanged on March 29, 2007. The militants suffered a jolt when the six top leaders of JMB were executed. Reports say this execution has not fully uprooted the terror outfit, which is now trying to regroup under the second rung leadership. In May 2007, bombs went off at railway stations in Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong, causing panic but leaving just one person with minor injuries. Railway officials said leaflets and an inscribed metal plate likely to be linked to the bombings were found at two of the stations. There are media reports that sleeping cells of terrorists are active in different shapes and forms in many places within Bangladesh. Reportedly some of these groups are also trying to send their volunteers to places like Afghanistan for training. This strategy of sleeping cells has made the job of law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh more difficult. The deadly Mumbai attack has underscored the need for vigilance against the surreptitious nature of activities of extremists to prevent terrorist attacks. That includes close monitoring of the movement of people near the border, smuggling of illegal weapons, and unauthorised entry of people. One of the most important aspects of counter-terrorism is the capacity of agencies to identify the infrastructure and network of extremist organisations. Mass awareness of terrorism, media participation, and a partnership between authorities and people need to be established to detect terrorist cells. Strict vigilance seems to be the answer to counter-terrorism because terrorists live within the community. The best source of intelligence on terrorist cells has tended to come from localities and neighbourhoods. More importantly, many analysts say that terror feeds on poverty. The president of the 56th General Assembly, Dr. Hang Seung Soo, in 2002 said that rich nations could no longer afford to be "islands of abundance in an ocean of poverty." The consequences, he said, would be the poorest nations becoming the "the breeding ground for violence." Some may not agree with this, but the bottom line is that global security is inextricably linked with the health of the global economy. Many argue the root causes lie in deprivation, frustration, helplessness and endemic poverty. It is argued that right policies, good governance and participatory democracy may reduce the chance of terrorism in our country.
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