UN legitimises state terrorism against the Islamic movement

Crescent International

Rajab 22, 1420 1999-11-01

World

by Crescent International (World, Crescent International Vol. 28, No. 17, Rajab, 1420)

The UN security council has passed two resolutions this last month, ostensibly against ‘international terrorism’, but in effect backing state terrorism against Islamic movements worldwide. And pending before the UN General Assembly is an even more menacing measure, a French ‘anti-terror’ proposal which is receiving increasing support.

The security council resolution demanding that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan hand Osama bin Laden over to the US for trial was passed on October 15. On October 19, the security council passed a resolution stating that all acts of terrorism are criminal regardless of the cause.

This resolution, passed at the initiative of the Russians, is couched in general terms but strikes at the very heart of Islamic movements by seeking to shut off their sources of income. It urges all nations to cooperate in combatting ‘terrorism’, to prevent the financing of ‘terrorist activities’, to ‘deny those who plan, finance or commit terrorist acts safe havens’ and ensure that they are ‘brought to justice’. The measure is a triumph for the permanent members of the security council ï- the US, China Russia, Britain and France - all of whom are engaged in wars against Islamic movements.

China, which faces a continuing struggle for independence in the Muslim province of Xinjiang, is bound to use the resolution to justify its suppression of the Xinjiang movement, while Russia will use the resolution to maintain its war in the Caucasus.

The US has also been handed a powerful instrument. All that Washington is now required to do to ‘legally’ target any country or organization thwarting its imperial ambitions is declare it ‘terrorist’, and UN sanctions will automatically follow. The targeting of financial support structures is a strategy that the US has repeatedly tried to use in its own campaigns against Islamic movements.

France has additional reasons for celebration. In September, a French special anti-terrorism court convicted 21 French Muslims, most of them of north African origin, on charges of terrorism. Of the 22 men charged, three were sentenced to a maximum of ten years in prison, 18 were given sentences of between six months and eight years, and only one was acquitted. According to defence lawyer Isabelle Couton Peyre, no evidence of terrorism was produced at the trial, which stemmed from the French government’s determination to help the Algerian regime to defeat opposition to its cancellation of the 1992 elections.

France’s obsession with ‘terrorism’ has driven it to adopt other questionable measures. It has submitted to the UN general assembly a draft ‘anti-terrorism’ convention which it hopes will be adopted by early next year.

The draft’s main thrust provides for the identification of sources of funding for ‘terrorist organizations’, and for the means of shutting them off. The US and its Muslim puppets, which are as obsessed with ‘international terrorism’ as France, also seek to block funding to Islamic movements. The French draft proposal is to open all bank accounts to the inspection of anti-terrorist investigators, an unprecedented development if adopted. The draft convention will require the ratification of just 24 states to come into effect.

The emphasis on the flow of funds to Islamic movements is to prevent them from performing the welfare, education and da’wah functions which helps make them popular in Muslim countries while showing up the failures of Muslim governments. But sabotaging the work of Islamic activists in these ways is likely to prove ineffective, and even counterproductive.

Muslimedia: November 1-15, 1999