Introduction
Last Friday in Christchurch, New
Zealand, fifty people were killed and more than 50 people were injured in two
incidents. The both attacks occurred in two mosques which are located at Deans
Avenue and Linwood Avenue. Friday a very auspicious day for Muslims. The
attacker(s) was a right wing extremist. The perpetrator(s) has designated this
day and time by livestreaming his atrocity against the innocent people. The
impact of these attacks to the world was devastating. No one has thought that
this kind of massacre could be happened in New Zealand. Prime Minister, Jacinda
Ardern called the massacre in Christchurch as ‘one of the darkest days in New
Zeland history.’
According to the 2018 Global
Peace Index (GIP) New Zealand is considered as one of the most peaceful nation
in the world. These unprecedented attacks
in Christchurch have changed the entire perception that New Zealand is a peace
loving nation.
In last February, Rebecca
Kitteridge, the Director General of New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS)
stated that country’s risk of terrorist attack is low. According to her, the
threat level is low but the level is continuously will be reviewed and she
urges the nation need to be primed to face such threat. She predominantly
focuses on ISIS and its FTFs but she stressed less emphasis on the rise of
right wing extremism internationally.
Even though, she has pointed out that
there is no imminent terrorist attack in near future but her assumption was
backfired immensely. Christchurch is
under siege in less than a month after she made the statement to the
Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) which is a statutory select committee
of the Parliament of New Zealand under the Intelligence and Security Act, 2017.
Probably all the while she has concentration on ISIS and other Islamic
terrorist threats within New Zealand and other related external factors which
are mostly involved with Muslims.
In my opinion, she made an error
of judgement on the rising of right wing extremists globally as the head of NZ
intelligence agency. The escalating terrorist acts committed by this group in
Europe and United States of America (USA) are startling. The global security
and intelligence agencies must give considerable attention as the indicator
becomes more clear that this threat is equally important now with the other kind
of terrorist threats. Recently, the European Union Security Commissioner has stated
that not a single EU member state is escaped from right wing extremism. This is
a shocking statement from a top EU official which indicates the seriousness of
this threat and how this threat is going to shape up the current and future
geopolitical issues in this world.
The right wing extremists
The FBI has classified right-wing
extremists as terrorists who consume extreme political leanings. They are
anti-government with racist ideology and often engross with a range of hate
crimes and violence. Further these people are viciously nationalistic, anti-global,
suspicious of centralized federal authority and participate in paramilitary
training in survived skills. Brenton Harrison
Tarrant’s behaviour before the attacks and his manifesto had subscribed all these
characteristics in accordance with the FBI definition on right wing extremists.
For instances, in 1988, neo-Nazi
extremists carried out bombing against immigrant hostels in Cannes and Nice. In
2011, a right wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik launched a terrorist
attack by killing more than 70 people and injured more than 300 people in Oslo,
Norway. In 2016, a member of British Parliament was murdered by a far right
extremist. A year after the incident, a man with right wing ideology used a
vehicle targeted a crowd leaving a mosque in north London where one person was killed
and nine others were injured. The perpetrator was later identified as Darren
Osborne. He was self-radicalised with the online right wing materials.
Some of the right wing extremist
groups in Europe are the Identitarian Movement Germany, Generation of Identity,
the Pro-Vlast movement, the Soldiers of Odin, the Blood and Honour
organisation, the National Action, the Scottish Down, the National Socialist
Anti-Capitalist Action and the Action des Forces Operationnnelles.
Where else in USA, a right wing
extremist, Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City where 168 people were killed and injured more than 680 people. In
2018, two African American were killed by a white supremacist in Jeffersontown,
Kentucky.
According to US Government Accounting Office report on countering violent extremism has stated that more than 70% of violent extremist deaths since 9/11 were caused by right wing extremist groups. Further, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in their brief had indicated that in Europe there is a significant rise i.e. 43% of total attacks involving right wing extremists between 2016 and 2017.
The Current Trends
Currently, the most of the
Salafi-Jihadists and right wing extremists desire to act as a lone wolf. The
main reason for them to act in such manner is to evade detection from the
global intelligence and security agencies. Therefore, they are difficult to
track and predict. Their attacks are premediated, well planned and
self-financed. Their primary target are the civilians. Their main
characteristics of this lone wolf terrorist/extremist is they are not belonging
to any organised terrorist/extremist group or organization.
Further, I believe they are equally
unpredictable and dangerous to society in any countries in the world as ISIS
terrorists and Salafi-Jihadists. In most cases, they are self-radicalised and
acted as a lone wolf. For the security and intelligence agencies this will be
their biggest challenge to lever. This because they have to handle two parallel
threats which are correspondingly important.
Terrorism is not always relating
a religion, race or nation. An act of terrorism can be committed by anyone at
any time in any part of the world. New Zealand is a fine example. Therefore, we
cannot undermine the capability of terrorists and extremists whose intention to
terrorise and unnerve the peace and security of any nation in the world.
Terrorists/right wing extremists are always evolving.
In my view, the far right
extremists/right wing extremists, neo-Nazis, white supremacists/white
fundamentalists and Salafi-Jihadists have to be categorised as terrorists as a
whole. We should not categorised them according to race, religion or the
ideologies they subscribed too. These perpetrators intention is to destabilise
the world to achieve their evil goal. They need to be stopped with all costs.
The Questions
The NZ perpetrator is an
Australian. Even though he was residing in Dunedin, why he chose Christchurch’s
mosques as his targets?
When he was radicalised?
Why he is NOT on radar of NZ and
Australian security and intelligence agencies?
Where and how he bought all his
weapons?
Has he acted alone or with help
of his supporters/associates within NZ/Australia or got some kind assistance
from other foreign extremist groups?
According to his manifesto, the
Europeans rights are challenged by immigrants and why he did not launch his
attacks in the Western European cities?
There is a report emerging that
the perpetrator has extensively travelled around the world especially to the
Balkans, Western Europe, Pakistan, Turkey, North Korea including Argentine and
New Zealand.
Why the Australian or New Zealand
immigration officers with their security officers had never questioned
Brenton’s intention to travel to the high risk countries like North Korea and
Pakistan?
The Future
The future terrorist or extremist
attacks will be conducted by lone wolf similar with the Christchurch terrorist
attack. The modus operandi of future perpetrators of such attacks will be much
more sophisticated. They will extensively use Facebook, Twitter and other
social media which will become a key platform to raise funds, to recruit terrorist/extremist
and to spread their ideologies to the world as a whole. In addition,
livestreaming of such attacks will be used as a propaganda to terrorise and
justify their actions.
Meantime, the ‘Brenton Tarrant’
doctrine can be used by the future perpetrators to exchange their views and
they also can use ‘dark web’ with their encrypted messages to discuss about the
future attacks. The rising of immigrants and losing economic opportunities to
them can be used as the justifications to launch such devastating attacks in
future.
The Conclusion
In my opinion to solve any
security issues, firstly the people who walks on the corridor of the powers
need to acknowledge the problems surrounded by these issues and then, identify
the root causes of these issues.
Secondly, they also need to form
a committee by including all the stakeholders to get their opinions on the said
matters.
Thirdly, they also have to create
group informers through the relevant agencies to infiltrate suspected
terrorist/extremist groups to get vital information about them.
Fourthly, update the security
legislation by giving more power to intelligence and security agencies with the
parliamentary supervision.
Next, the relevant agencies need
to equip with proper weapons and their officers must go through rigid training programmes
to tackle issues arising from right wing extremism/terrorism.
In addition, the relevant
government agencies must also coordinate by sharing security information
between them internally and externally to curb right wing extremism/terrorism.
Further, the understanding of
political leaders from both sides and policy makers of the government agencies
will be essential to reduce the threats pose by the right wing
extremists/terrorists. The important of the national security issues must be
embedded with through training and field exercises.
Lastly, the collaboration between
the technology companies with intelligence and security agencies is vital to
minimise the risk of such attacks. Like in the case of Christchurch terrorist
attacks, these companies successfully removed more than 200 sensitive materials
which relates to the Christchurch attack within 48 hours.
The love the country and
patriotism are key factors to frustrate these perpetrators whose intention to
destabilise our nation. The attack in New Zealand need to take as a hard lesson
that the peace and security of a nation is not a luxury but rather it is a
privilege that we should share and protect ourselves. We should not allow a
third party/outsider or culprit with our society who are identified themselves
as right wing extremists or terrorists to destroy our beautiful country. This
country is not exclusive for them only but to all Malaysians.
19.03.2019
Kuala Lumpur
©Copyright Reserved. 2019
Republished with edited version:
http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/christchurch-attack-and-terrorism/
South Africa - online portal
https://www.voices360.com/community-development/unpacking-the-new-zealands-christchurch-massacre-20024355
Republished with edited version:
http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/christchurch-attack-and-terrorism/
South Africa - online portal
https://www.voices360.com/community-development/unpacking-the-new-zealands-christchurch-massacre-20024355
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