Terrorism not a new phenomenon: Ross
Staff Report
PESHAWAR: Terrorism is not, as most people are inclined to believe, a
new and unprecedented phenomenon. The term is over 200 years old but
present day global networks are a more recent trend. However, there
have been systematic political assassinations throughout history.
These were some of the views expressed by Ross Masood Hussain, expert
on terrorist issues, in a written paper he presented at a University
of Peshawar seminar. Excerpts from Mr Hussain paper are as follows:
From time to time, terrorism has emerged in various forms including
political revolt, social uprising and religious protest. It is often
practised by small and dissatisfied groups or by individuals against
their political foes.
History shows that secret societies committed murder in ancient
society including India and China. For example, the word ‘thug’ is
Indian and refers to a terrorist group.
The 19th century heralded the heyday of secret societies in Europe.
However, such societies existed in various parts of the world. At the
start of the 20th century, Russian terrorism against the Czar was
present and various kinds of terrorist activities existed in France,
Italy, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, the Balkans and the United States.
After 1945, guerrilla fighting was regarded as a legitimate weapon.
What precisely is terrorism? Ideally, there should be agreement as to
whether terrorism is violence in general or some particular form of
violence; whether the emphasis should be on its political aims and
objectives or on its assumption that there will be one in the near
future
Most experts agree that terrorism is the use, or the threat of use, of
violence in order to achieve certain goals. It aims to induce a state
of fear and to dramatise a political message through violence that it
is ruthless and rejects international norms, conventions and treaties
and is designed to regulate international behaviour.
What is clear is that terrorism is not mindless violence. It is
neither random nor accidental. Rather, it is premeditated violence,
propelled by ideological or political causes, with publicity an
essential aspect of its strategy. For the freedom fighter, however,
terrorism is deemed a tactic of the weak and frustrated against the
strong and established.
Present day terrorism is revolutionary for it constitutes a natural
response to oppression, persecution and other forms of social and
national injustice.
Again, state-sponsored terrorism is not new. The term
‘destabilisation’ may be new but the use of proxies is old. Today,
state-sponsored terrorism is more frequent, more pervasive and more
dangerous than in the past. There is a danger that state-sponsored
terrorism could escalate into a full military conflict that could
subsequently result in all-out war.
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