Round The World

New Delhi, 30 March 2016

Brussels Attacks

COLLECTIVE RESPONSE VITAL

By Amrita Banerjee

(School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi)

This time it is Brussels! The centre of the third most unfortunate terrorist target on European soil that killed at least 34 people at the airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital. These attacks demonstrate that jihadists remain a serious threat to European societies despite a massive security crackdown since the November 2015 Paris attacks. Brussels, which hosts key European Union institutions, is the de facto capital of Europe. By striking in the city, four days after Salah Abdeslam, thought to be the lone remaining perpetrator of the Paris attacks, was caught, the terrorists have sent a strong message not just to the Belgian government but to the entire European establishment.

The Brussels attacks also come in a broader context of global jihadists stepping up attacks on civilians around the world. The Islamic State in particular, which has claimed responsibility for the Brussels strike, has carried out a number of attacks across the world, from Paris to Ankara, in recent months. One of the reasons for these attacks in faraway locations is that the group is facing military setbacks in and around the so-called ‘caliphate’, the seat of its influence.

Attacking public places and killing innocent people may appear to be utter madness. But for groups such as the IS, there is a rationale. First, not being able to expand the territories of the ‘caliphate’, the IS wants to export terrorism to other countries so as to stay ‘relevant’ and find more recruits. Second, and more important, the IS is fighting a war against the civilisational values of the modern world. By attacking the public, it wants to create panic in free and open societies, break their social cohesion and then reap the dividends. And it is certain by now that Europe is high on the hit list of the IS because it knows that when it hits Western societies, which are generally known for democratic, secular and pluralistic values, it sets off the real panic button. For the same reasons, the challenges before Europe are also greater.

The question that is often asked relates to the choice of the target, i.e. Belgium because it seems an unlikely location for a hub of European extremist violence. But in reality there are good reasons for the concentration of radical activity in this small State. These include a sizeable and poorly integrated Muslim minority, high levels of youth unemployment in that community, the availability of arms, a highly developed communications and transport network passing through the country, authorities that have been often complacent and always under-resourced, and domestic political instability.

Belgium is a federal State with several layers of government. This set-up often hampers flow of information to investigators which works to the advantage of terrorists. Moreover, Belgium is politically split and has bitter rivalries between the French-speaking south and Dutch-speaking north, making the path for inter-agency cooperation bumpy. This has further led to a patchwork of policies on education, social welfare and even security and policing.

There are also particular areas where because of trust deficit the intelligence agencies are not able to gather effective intelligence due to a palpable problem of economic and cultural isolation. One such example is Molenbeek, a borough of 90,000 in the capital made up of 80% Muslim population, a virtual no-go area where “police have little grip”.

Belgium also has the ignominy of being considered a hub for gun smugglers. The toxic mix of lack of economic opportunities, drugs, guns and alienation has made for fertile grounds on which the Islamic State can wage a war in Europe. According to some statistics, out of the 5000 European terrorists recruited in the ISIS, some 670 are Belgian citizens.

Starting from the financial crisis facing the EU, refugee crisis, the entire Schengen area controversy, the imminent Brexit from EU and the spate of the terrorist attacks ripping through its different cities; the woes of Europe do not seem to end.

What is Europe doing to counter the problem of terrorism? A centralised European counter-terrorism agency, though in existence for the past ten years, is largely ineffective—European intelligence reports describe it as having “no operational capacity to offer”. Similarly, the information collection at the Schengen Information System (SIS) has spotty information, at best. There is no systematic exchange of information at the European level. There is a general lack of confidence between the national intelligence agencies, and even between friendly neighbours like Belgium and France. The deep budget cuts during Europe’s economic recession this decade presents another major challenge in dismantling terrorist networks.

The Schengen passport-free zone with its open borders suggests the dire need for more consolidated intelligence networks that should have been established long time ago. Europol, the law-enforcement agency of the EU, though facilitates information exchange and analysis, does not have the authority to carry out investigations and has a tight budget of approximately 112million.

To come out of the precarious situation, Europe can start implementing some of the means and methods Israel has used against the suicide bombings. But it must wait and see whether the European public and governments have reached the critical mass of losses and trauma that would justify a fundamental change in their lifestyles and security rules while compromising their freedoms, as happened in the US after the 9/11, 2001 attacks.

The possible response is familiar and well-known: Strengthening coordination between intelligence agencies within the countries and between them; removing bureaucratic obstacles; increased basic intelligence coverage of groups that have a high potential for terror; harsher punishment by courts; and establishing a strict and broader system of security on trains, and in particular at airports. Such actions require a change in the way Europeans think, a deviation from accepted ideological principles and, of course, a major financial investment.

Defeating the designs of terrorists to hijack world peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to keep his date with Brussels despite the blasts. Not only this, he also plans to address the gathering of 5000-odd members of the Indian diaspora in the city on March 30. He is also slated to attend the India-EU summit and resume the Bilateral Trade and Investment Talks after a gap of four years. Apart from trade issues, talks with EU Council President Donald Tusk and President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker will focus on EU support to India on climate change cooperation, clean water projects and in particular, the Namami Ganga project. Cooperation on fighting terror as well as de-radicalisation and IS-related security issues are also likely to be highlighted during the bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. 

Such high-level visits send strong signals to the entire world but more needs to be done today. The recurrent terrorist attacks also underscore the need to counter terror unitedly. Whether terrorist attacks take place in a developed or a developing country, the response of the world community should be the same and there shouldn’t be any double standards, come what may. Terrorism is a global concern and so the response has to be collective too! The need of the hour is to raise security operations to a higher standard and strengthen cooperation among other countries in fighting against terrorist groups. A very important part of solving the terror puzzle is achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature  Alliance)