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Excerpts from the Debate on International terrorism - British House of
Lords
4 October 2001
Full transcript from:
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/Thursday/index.htm
8.15 p.m.
Baroness Cox: My Lords, perhaps I may begin by joining other noble Lords in expressing great
appreciation of the Government's demonstration of solidarity with the United States in its
declaration of war against international terrorism, in ways which have been both principled and
practical.
4 Oct 2001 : Column 250
However, there are a number of concerns which I wish to raise based on first-hand experience of working in some of the areas directly associated with international terrorism. But, first, as Islamic terrorism has been the main focus of investigations following the attacks on New York and Washington, I join other noble Lords in emphasising the great importance of taking every precaution to avoid Islamophobia, by making that fundamental distinction between the religion of Islam and the ideology of violent Islamism, and also the importance of the Government's commitment to take the threat of violent Islamism very seriously. Otherwise, the Islamist terrorists' activities may generate a backlash against the vast majority of the peaceable Muslims who live in our midst.
The aspect of violent Islamism which I wish to address briefly relates to this country, to Azerbaijan, Indonesia and the Sudan. I have been interested to read accounts of measures now being taken against avowed Islamists living here in the United Kingdom, such as Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammed. Only two days ago, The Times reported that British authorities have begun to crack down on militant Muslims who use Britain as a sanctuary for fundraising and inciting terrorism.
I hope that it will not be unhelpful, or be seen to be arrogant, if I remind your Lordships' House that in January of last year I gave detailed examples of some of the ways in which Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammed and other Islamists, such as the Afghan veteran Abu Hamza, were recruiting and training Islamists in this country. I also drew attention to a very powerful film on the "Despatches" series, which shows those Islamist teachers teaching their ideology and the tactics of Islamist terrorism. That film was screened on our national TV in August of 1999.
I raise this matter because people are asking many questions. Why did it take so long for the authorities to begin to act? How many recruits have been trained in Islamist terrorism here in Britain in the intervening two years? How many have been sent abroad to fight in jihads to gain military experience? How much money has been raised in this country and used for deadly purposes? Why have the authorities allowed organisations such as Al Muhajiroun to demonstrate and to use language inciting racial hatred and violence with apparent impunity?
It appears that a great deal of licence has been given to those who have been recruiting and training terrorists here in Britain--until the terrible events in New York and Washington occurred. It is of particular concern that many of the men who carried out those appalling acts had been in or had passed through this country.
I ask these questions and raise these issues, not in a spirit of recrimination, but because they are legitimate concerns felt by many people who would welcome reassurance. Furthermore, because they demonstrate why any measures proposed by the Government to correct those problems should be strongly supported. I have today gratefully received a letter from the Minister which addresses some of these issues.
4 Oct 2001 : Column 251
Another concern relates to funding Islamist terrorism either directly or indirectly in the guise of charitable organisations. Last Tuesday, International Herald Tribune reported the United States initiatives to block the assets of charities suspected of aiding Osama bin Laden's Al'Qaeda network: "Officials tracking Mr bin Laden's Al'Qaeda network say they have found a sophisticated financial infrastructure that stretches from the United Arab Emirates to Europe, to Indonesia, and uses mechanisms as varied as charitable organisations, manufacturing companies and credit card fraud to raise money and move it around the globe".
The Government are to be fully supported in taking any similar measures. However, are there similar proposals to clamp down on infiltration of non-charitable organisations by those associated with Islamist terrorism? A report in the Sunday Times last year alleged that a Sudanese business man, Salah Idris--believed to be an Islamist and a friend of Osama bin Laden--is a major shareholder in many firms, including those responsible for security at the Houses of Parliament, the Royal Courts of Justice, British Airways and Texaco. It would seem a serious threat to security, to have people apparently with terrorist connections engaged at the highest level in financial systems responsible for some of our most politically and strategically significant institutions. Many people were not satisfied with the Written Answer of 9th October 2001, which implied that there was no cause for concern because Salah Idris had no day-to-day involvement in the running of the company. That seems naive in the extreme. Can the Minister say whether such possible Islamist penetration into key organisations will be subject to more rigorous investigation?
Looking abroad, I returned two days ago from Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, where the people expressed deep concern at the well-recorded activities of Islamist terrorists in neighbouring Azerbaijan. That was my 52nd visit to the region. Many visits were during the bitter war in 1991-94, when Azerbaijan's self-confessed policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Karabakh was at its height and the Armenians were trying to defend their right to live in their historic land against impossible odds.
During that war, the Azeri leadership enlisted more than 1,000 Islamist mujaheddin mercenaries--including Arab veterans of the Afghan war. Some of bin Laden's senior military commanders fought in at least two battles in Karabakh. So the Armenian people have already held one front line against Islamist terrorism without any help from western countries. Britain, with its huge oil interests in Azerbaijan, generally favoured Azerbaijan.
That favourable attitude towards Azerbaijan has continued despite long-standing reports of continuing Islamist terrorist activity condoned or supported by the Azeri leadership. In August 1998, the Azerbaijan branch of the Islamic Jihad--which by then had merged with Osama bin Laden's Al'Qaeda--repeatedly played a vital role as a communications centre during the bombing of US embassies in Kenya
4 Oct 2001 : Column 252
and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded several thousand. During those operations, 60 calls from a satellite phone used by bin Laden were reportedly made to his associates in Baku and from them to operatives in East Africa.
The story continues in October 1999, when an article in Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy by the expert on Islamist terrorism, Yossef Bodansky, entitled The New Azerbaijan Hub: How Islamist Operations are Targeting Russia, Armenia & Nagorno Karabakh, described in chilling detail the activities of Islamists in Azerbaijan--including the training of suicide warriors and the smuggling of weapons and money, sometimes under the guise of supporting charitable organisations.
The Chechen Islamist leader, Muvladi Udugov, has said publicly that he is happy to assist Azerbaijan with a so-called resolution of the Karabakh problem--confirming the policy that Islamists should first seize Chechnya, then Dagestan and Karabakh, which was destined to become a centre for Islamist terrorist activities.
Canada has now included Azerbaijan on the list of countries where terrorists are trained and has instigated a policy of special checks for people with links to Azerbaijan trying to enter Canada. Meanwhile, the US embassy in Baku is reportedly denying permission for Azeri citizens to enter the United States after US State Department officials placed Azerbaijan on the list of countries supporting international terrorism. I therefore ask the Minister whether Her Majesty's Government have similar policies in place with regard to Azerbaijan. If, so, perhaps he could indicate what they are. If not, why not?
I have also recently had the privilege of visiting Indonesia and travelling to the exotically-named Spice Islands or the Moluccas, which had been a kind of Paradise but which have become a kind of hell. Indonesia had a reputation for religious tolerance, where Muslim and Christian communities lived peacefully together. However, in the Moluccas, the situation changed tragically in January 1999 when violent conflict erupted. That conflict has since claimed the lives of thousands and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes to live as internally displaced people in harsh conditions in the jungle.
Through my organisation, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, I have been working with the traditional Muslim and Christian leaders. We met members of both communities during our recent visit to the islands of Ambon and Seram. They expressed their grave fears over the arrival of between 2,000 to 3,000 Lasker Jihad warriors who were stirring up religious conflict and engaging in militant activities. There is widespread concern in the Moluccas that the Lasker Jihad will take over this strategic part of Indonesia for militant Islamism. There is therefore an urgent need, which I hope the Government will be able to meet, to encourage and support the new administration in Indonesia in any policy needed to contain militant
4 Oct 2001 : Column 253
Islamic developments in Molucca and to encourage reconciliation and reconstruction between the communities in the conflict-ridden areas.
I refer briefly to Sudan. The United Nations Security Council has lifted sanctions, but the day after those sanctions were lifted the Islamist National Islamic Front regime released El Turabi from gaol. El Turabi was the mastermind behind Sudan's terrorist activities. He and the regime have longstanding connections with Osama bin Laden and numerous terrorist organisations. Professor Eric Reeves, a scholar with deep knowledge of Sudan, wrote on 28th September: "The mountain of evidence linking Osama bin Laden and Sudan's National Islamic Front continues to grow--and it is clear that the links are emphatically in the present tense. Al-Shamel bank is, for the moment, only the most conspicuous financial link. . . . Just as significantly, construction and agricultural interests in Sudan continue to supply bin Laden and his Al'Qaeda organisation with huge revenues. And, in an extremely important development, the Khartoum regime is revealed today in a report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to have 'arranged for diplomatic credentials for bin Laden followers, allowing them unfettered travel around the world'".
The Hindustan Times writes: "The State Department and the Bush administration had best think long and hard before going further down the road of 'co-operation' with a Khartoum regime that is still clearly in the terrorism business. There are a host of additional links between Khartoum and bin Laden and Al'Qaeda that are only now emerging in the wake of the horrors of September 11 . . . The United States will have betrayed its declared goal in confronting world terrorism if it does not face up squarely to these ongoing realties [in Sudan]".
Those words apply equally to the United Kingdom. The sophistication of the attacks in New York and Washington prove that Islamist terrorism has created a large, well-funded and widespread network of organisations with a ruthless agenda, supported by people who are so fanatic that they desire to commit suicide in fulfilment of their life's mission. At stake is the abuse of the freedoms democracy enshrines by those who would destroy those freedoms and, indeed, democracy itself with weapons which have no historical precedent.
Therefore, I hope that the Minister will be able to assure the House that the Government's response now, although in some ways late as far as this country is concerned, will not be little. I hope also that the Government will receive appropriate support for whatever may be needed to contain this menace to our security, freedom and civilisation.
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