TERRORISM: AN EVALUATION
Brig Gen Himalaya Thapa
1.0 Introduction
Terrorism has been a threat not only to the peace, security and stability of nations but also to economical development, globalisation and sustainability around the world. Thus it has been increasingly realized that dealing with this problem effectively is imperative for establishing the lasting peace and security of the international community. Taking into view of its magnitude, this paper focuses its discussion on issues concerning present-day international terrorism and ways to deal with it effectively.
The paper provides an overview of the term “terrorism” and the types of terrorist activities particularly focusing on modern terrorism. It examines the causes and recent trends in terrorism; it evaluates the counter-terrorist methods applied, and their implications for future stability. It outlines the lessons learnt from the past experience and possible future strategies for addressing terrorism effectively. It concludes with a range of suggestions derived from the analysis.
2.0 What is “terrorism”? There is no universally accepted defi nition of terrorism. Terrorism is unlawful in all countries where such acts occur, and is defi ned by statute— target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and legitimacy or legality of the act. Among these defi nitions there are several that do not recognize the possibility of legitimate use of violence by civilians against an invader in an occupied country and would, thus, label all resistance movements as terrorist roups. Others make a distinction between lawful and unlawful use of violence. Likewise, some news sources refuse to use the term "terrorism"; others use the term in context. For example, the BBC and CNN has described the Northern Irish IRA as "terrorists” but describes Palestinian armed groups who employ the same methods against Israeli citizens as "militants”. Ultimately, the distinction is a political judgment.
In November 2004, a UN panel described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or
serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act".
