Terrorism and the Caribbean: A warning (part 1)

Today’s world is in turmoil. In every corner there is conflict with no end in sight. Terrorism, among others, poses serious concerns.The global war on terrorism seems to have taken a back seat.The world now sees a terrorist organisation, the Taliban, up to a year ago the target of US Coalition Forces, seeking recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. This apparently represents the new modernity when we now have to accept that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. The Caribbean must heed such realities, understand what obtains and protect its future.

Terrorist incidents are not new to the Caribbean. Sarah Reynolds’ article, ‘A Turning Tide? Terrorism and the Caribbean (International Compliance Association’, 2017) provides this overview:

- Assassination of Haitian ambassador, Bahamas, 1968

- Attempted bombing of Duvalier’s palace, Haiti, 1969

- Bombing of Guyana’s consulate-general, Trinidad, 1976

- Attack on Soviet ship, Bahamas, 1976

- Detonation of bomb on-board Cubana Airline aircraft on departure, killing 73 persons on-board, Barbados, 1976

- Bombing at airport in Guadeloupe, 1980

- Bombing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 1983

- Bombing of Peace Corps offices, Dominican Republic, 1987

- Bombing of police headquarters, Trinidad, 1990

- Series of hotel bombings in Cuba, 1997

- Numerous street bombings in Trinidad, 2005

In addition, Jamaica has had its own experiences in the attacks on and shooting up of police stations, and the ambushing of police patrol in 2010.

These incidents are part of our history and provide lessons which we should learn. Although the majority are pre-September 11, 2001, (9/11), the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, USA, long before that time there was recognition of a real problem by most states.

This story looks at terrorism in general, how some states can be blinkered by interpretations of invincibility and use geopolitical considerations, oftentimes with little regard for developing countries. Despite knowledge of the existence and capacities of organisations steeped in extreme violence the following incidents took place:

- The PLO group, Black September, took nine Israeli team members hostage at the Munich Olympics, killing two in 1972. They were supported by West German Neo-Nazis.

- Orlando Letelier, Chilean ambassador to the USA, was assassinated in Washington, DC, in 1975. By 1978, the US had knowledge that the order was given by General Pinochet. They also knew those who carried out the act, Michael Townley, an American who recruited two Cuban exiles living in the US. (Little, Becky, 2018). Pinochet died in 2006, no action taken against him. This is a prime example of state-sponsored terrorism, without consequences.

-In 1996 at the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, a home-grown terrorist detonated a pipe bomb causing the death of two and injuring 111 persons.

- Another example of state-sponsored terrorism is seen in North Korea’s alleged attempt to have the 1998 Seoul Olympics moved from South Korea. Two alleged North Korean spies, posing as Japanese citizens, boarded a South Korean aircraft, in Baghdad, Iraq, bound for Seoul, in South Korea, in 1997. Having planted a bomb on-board, they disembarked, en route, in Abu Dhabi. The aircraft exploded on the tarmac killing all 115 persons on-board.

- The Oklahoma City bombing, USA in 1995, was yet another case of a home-grown terrorist, 168 persons perished.

These incidents seemed not to be fully understood as having the potential to be repeated elsewhere. Complacency has set in. Realistically, they signal the transitioning of power, declaring that power does not only reside in the hands of the so-called powerful but also those non–state actors with ideological frameworks that challenge the status quo of any country, for their own agendas.

Al Qaeda’s attack on US territory, 9/11, destroyed the myth that no one could or would dare attack the USA. It exposed the weaknesses in their intelligence framework and more so the lack of adequate and reciprocal international consultations. It revealed that terrorism was here to stay and should not be treated lightly. The need to have wide collaborations and systems of cooperation addressing existential threats of global concern became evident. Thus, the global coalition for the war on terror became a reality.

One doesn’t get the impression that terrorism, a reality of today’s world, is fully understood by the people of the Caribbean. This is so despite direct connections to terrorism by Jamaican, Trinidadian and Guyanese nationals. The UK Shoe Bomber, deportation of Abdullah al Faisal from the UK and subsequent extradition to the USA on terrorism charges, the movement of Trinidadian Freedom Fighters to Syria to join and fight, with ISIS and such events over the last two decades have not triggered a sufficiency of concern for the overall safety and security of the Caribbean. In recent times, following the dissolution of the Caliphate, there is the request for the families of Caribbean freedom fighters to return home, a consideration that governments are grappling with, seemingly in isolation. In this respect, we have not learned from the US experience. In this area alone the region will have to face serious challenges as I have written about before in an article titled ‘Children of Conflict’.

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