Tanzania experienced the escalation of terrorism in 1998 when the group believed to be a terrorist launched a series of twin attack in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi Kenya at nearly the same hours. It will be remembered in history that Tanzania had experienced such an attack which primarily targeted the U.S embassy in Dar es Salaam.
Among the 1998 terrorist attack victims there were several Tanzanians who lost their lives as the effect of that attack. Surprisingly enough the attack was launched in an African country where the U.S embassy was just located as a diplomatic mission.
The international political analyst should not only analyze the terrorist attack but rather stick to why the attack was launched in an African country. Let alone the fact that the U.S also in American land experienced the September 11 terrorist attack.
Is the U.S a subject in terrorism or it depends on who claims to be the terrorist, attacking whom and where in which land? In the memories of the most escalating and terrifying terrorist attack the history can not forget the September 11 attack due to it’s magnitude, scope and the pre-targeted areas which were expected to receive the shock of the attacks in the U.S like Pentagon and the U.S white house.
Analyzing the fact that terrorism being launched in an African land makes the phenomena to be worldwide due to several attacks in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and America. With this perspective terrorism can be looked as the world menace. My concern as the political analyst is the attack being launched in an African country or countries with the element of the myth operating underneath to back up the attacks.
The region of East Africa has become prone to the attacks of terrorism. Accusations being made against the militia groups like Al-Shabab which is believed to have close relations with the famously worldwide known terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The international relations and political analysts several times when describe their views on terrorism there is a myth that the launch of attacks is closely related the “beliefs”. The beliefs described are closely related to a certain religion whose the groups of terrorist are claimed to be believers of.
Uganda during the season of world cup on 11th July 2010 experienced the launch of a very merciless terrorist attack which lost the lives of 76 innocent people. Many of these people belonged to an African land “Uganda”. That attack made the region of East African being a prone of terrorist attacks after the twin blast of 1998 in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
On 21st December 2010 it has been reported in several media houses like BBC –Swahili that terrorist launched the attack in Nairobi-Kenya in a bus named Kampala Coach which was transporting civilians from Nairobi to Kampala. The bus contained innocent people who some believed to be Kenyans and Ugandans, citizens of the East African region.
The region of East Africa is now becoming a home of unresolved terrorist attacks something which gives much tension to cohesive apparatus and threatens the safety in the region. The efforts of police in this region have been much put into “intelligence for prevention” of further attacks. If the attacks are launched behind the so said myth, the intelligence for prevention can not be the everlasting solution toward the fight against terrorism.
The security of the region is threatened. The police and all security forces in the region needs an in-depth thinking toward the everlasting solution towards terrorism. If the myth can be testified to be true then war against terrorism is yet to end and people in the region should be worried that the attacks will become popular and gain speed in the region.
The Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda are believed to be every where in the region. Bad enough several Tanzanians have been accused to be involved in the groups such as Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani who was found guilty in Manhattan Federal Court of conspiring in the 1998 destruction of United States embassies in the East Africa resulting to death. Mr. Ghailani will face the life imprisonment in the US scheduled to start on 25th January, 2011. This was according to the public information issued by the court to Mr.Ghailani’s attorneys chamber in the U.S
The Uganda attack in July 2010 was believed to be launched by Al-Shabab where one Tanzanian was arrested in Arusha accused to be involved in that attack. This news was reported by Mwananchi and the Guardian dailies simultaneously on 13th September 2010. Mwananchi with the heading “Mtuhumiwa mabomu ya Uganda anaswa” (The suspect of Uganda terrorist bombs arrested), whilst the Guardian titled the story as “Man held in Arusha over Kampala blasts”
The security forces need to think twice when waging a war against the suspects and terrorism per se. As the fast-tracking of East African Political Federation is at hand the political leaders in the region should be cautioned on the ongoing trend of terrorist attack in the region.
With the historical view of terrorism in the region, after the 1998 attacks, Uganda’s world cup July attacks then Tanzania could be likely to receive another terrorist attack if some of the Tanzanians are accused to be involved in the movement and yet the question of the prevailing myth is not perfectly addressed in its naked perspective of reality.
It is difficult to fight terrorism due to fact that it involves the people we leave with whose part of the beliefs they believe we sometimes share together. The question of whether the myth can be scientifically brought into reality poses a challenge to academicians and intellectuals to research on. Terrorism as any social-political threat needs to be brought into an end.
All actors be it police force, military forces, national and international community waging war against terrorism in the region should put their efforts in exploring the causes of the terrorism rather than wasting resources in fighting against its effects such as terrorist suspects. Taking the suspects alone to the courts of law is not a long-lasting solution. East African Community should seek the best alternative to stop this international crime. Further discussions on the existence of the myth should be perpetuated in the efforts of seeking a long-lasting solution not only in Tanzania but whole of East African Community if the region is envisioned to be a better place to live.
An article written on 21st December 2010 © Frederick Fussi
