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DIPLOMACY: UK'S TERRORISM ACT
Lacking Punch
Britain's ban on 21 major militant groups is a
step forward but may make little difference to Kashmir
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GREAT GUNS: The Lashkar's supply of arms and funds
will continue unabated
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It was only three
months ago that Mohammad Bilal had hit the headlines. Part of a suicide
squad, he blew himself up along with his vehicle in front of the army
headquarters in Srinagar. Apart from the concern that another bomber had
made a suicidal attack, the police noted that he had come from Birmingham,
UK.
This wasn't the first instance of the UK being
used as a safe haven by terrorists. Omar Sheikh, one of the three militants
freed to secure the release of the hijacked Indian Airlines passengers
in Kandahar, was also a British citizen. For some time now, quite like
the 1980s when Jagjit Singh Chohan extended support to the Khalistan movement
from UK, several Islamic groups have been using the territory to raise
money and train terrorists for what they call jehad in Kashmir.
Concerned with proscribing organisations involved
in terrorist activities in northern Ireland, the British Government has
now brought the Terrorism Act 2000 into effect and of the 21 militant
organisations banned, two relate directly to Punjab and three to Kashmir.
Apart from the LTTE and some Arab organisations, the ban brings under
its purview the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM), the International Sikh Youth Federation and the Babbar Khalsa.
Till February 28, when the list of the 21 groups
was released by the Home Office, all that these organisations had to do
was to ensure they did not violate the law in Britain. The new enactment,
however, broadens its scope and prohibits the use of British soil for
indulging in terrorism outside its geographical confines. Besides, it
also bans the practice of any religious activity that incites violence.
The legislation empowers the Government to take action against money laundering,
a clause that could hit the LTTE hard. It not only makes it difficult
for any of these groups to train recruits but also for them to get fresh
members, supporters or donors.
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FUNDS CRUNCH: The
clause against money laundering could hit the LTTE hard |
Already, there is criticism surrounding the act
and civil-liberty groups are jumping into the fray. India, however, has
to put the act in perspective. While it helps diplomatically to have a
country like the UK openly come out with a legislation like this, what
is important is the question of the difference this would make to insurgency,
say, in Kashmir. "The UK has no intention of becoming a base for
terrorists and their supporters, nor to see it flourish abroad, and we
will take every legal action at our disposal to prevent this," stated
Jack Straw, Britain's home secretary, but as an Indan Ministry of External
Affairs official said, "It is only a small step forward. It's not
as if Pakistan has been declared a terrorist state."
Unlike Sri Lanka which has reasons to be pleased
with the act since the LTTE depends on that part of the world for much
of its funding, the ban will have little effect on the finances and the
weapons-capabilities of the LeT, JeM and the HuM as it's the Arab world,
Afghanistan and Pakistan which keep their guns firing.
Moreover, the question of the effectiveness
of such bans in curbing terrorism remains. The US ban on the Harkat-ul-Ansar
following the kidnapping of five foreign tourists was not very encouraging.
Among the five, one Norwegian was beheaded while the others are still
to be traced and have been given up as dead. The Americans put the HuA
on its list of terrorist organisations but all that resulted from the
move was that the HuA came up with the new name-Harkat-ul-Mujahideen-to
circumvent the legislation. The group's activities continue unabated in
Kashmir.
The UK ban will no doubt put some pressure on
the target organisations which may even be forced to go underground. But
viewed through the ground realities of Kashmir, the ban may not make a
sizeable difference.
-Harinder Baweja with Rahat Fahmida
in London
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