‘Modern terrorist acts aimed at striking fear into heart of public’
CRIMINAL attacks on unarmed civilians rightly cause public outrage. South Africans‚ like the rest of the world‚ were shocked by the horrific assault on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.
All of our hearts went out to the victims‚ their families and friends and the people of Kenya.
The apparent ease with which the al-Shabab terrorist cell was able to secure its weapons inside the mall in advance‚ enter the mall undetected‚ mount their assault and take hostages caused fear about the security of our own shopping malls.
Speculation about the role of Samantha Lewthwaite‚ dubbed the “White Widow” by UK tabloids‚ the reports about a South African passport she obtained illegally and her residence in two South African cities‚ also excited our media.
Perhaps it was inevitable that South Africans would become apprehensive about our safety and the security of our public spaces.
This terrorist action resulted in a three-day standoff with Kenyan security forces‚ assisted by Israeli and US special forces.
The evidence indicating that Lewthwaite had not only travelled to and resided in South Africa‚ but had also fraudulently acquired a South African passport‚ suggested that we might be as vulnerable as Kenya. The tactics of early terrorist movements targeted specific individuals – the leaders‚ senior officials and personnel of what they considered an oppressive government. Modern terrorist acts are intended to strike fear into the heart of the public‚ hence their indiscriminate nature. The terrorists of our day hope to make their political statement by inspiring alarm and mass anxiety.
Since that dreadful Saturday afternoon‚ our print media have tried to offer readers a balanced account of what unfolded.
Drawing on information gleaned from official and unofficial sources‚ they tried to give us a feeling of what Kenyans must be thinking.
Lewthwaite is a British citizen whose late husband was killed in the suicide attacks on London’s transport system. The British authorities issued her with the passport that enabled her to travel abroad.
She used it to enter South Africa. She lived among us‚ then bought South African identities for herself and her children on the black market.
She then left the country. Her South African passport was uncovered in a raid on an al-Shabab safe house in Kenya. The South African authorities cancelled the passport after the Kenyans reported their find.
Lewthwaite is evidently no amateur at her game.
Despite her association with a terrorist cell that had committed atrocities in London‚ she was able to obtain travel documents for herself and her children. She bought the new identity she then used to leave our shores. Though she is on the Interpol watch list‚ she still has not
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been apprehended. Some South African journalists‚ with established reputations in their profession‚ have characterised the Nairobi outrage as a “wake-up call” for South Africa.
Our borders‚ they charge‚ are far too porous. Perhaps South Africa needs to jack up its anti-terrorism act. One senior columnist even suggested that it was the ANC’s own experience of being labelled a “terrorist” organisation‚ that makes our government less enthusiastic about the US’s “war on terror”.
I remember then-president Thabo Mbeki’s cabinet receiving an intelligence report to the effect that the investigations it had conducted into US assertions that there were al-Qaeda training camps in South Africa had uncovered innocent camping facilities owned by Muslims.
Such rumours are now being recycled by our journalists‚ no doubt motivated by a concern to root out potentially dangerous terrorist units.
Perhaps it is unwise to second-guess professionals operating with more reliable data than the fourth estate.
The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon spread untold levels of mass anxiety among a US public that thought the defences of the country were impenetrable.
Thousands of Americans have uttered unspeakable things and acted in ways they would normally
Her SA passport was uncovered in a raid on an al-Shabab safe house . . . the SA authorities cancelled the passport
find unacceptable as a result.
In Europe‚ the actions of a handful of fanatics have swept away a tradition evolved over centuries and enriched by the experience of World War 2 and the Holocaust.
The moral distinction between a law prohibiting the construction of synagogues and another banning the erection of minarets eludes me.
Fear and anxiety‚ compounded by ignorance about Islam and the Muslim world‚ have inspired an obscene wave of xenophobia in many parts of Europe.
Vigilance is wise‚ but paranoia is dangerous.
It is absolutely essential that what we write and say does not inadvertently incite hostility and suspicion towards Somalis‚ Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who have emigrated to South Africa.
While it is absolutely proper for the media to alert the public and the government to weaknesses in our defences‚ raising the level of fear is not helpful and might well lead us into rash actions that compromise the integrity of our democracy.
Jordan is a former arts and culture minister.