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Irish Terror Still Persists in Ireland

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Hostilities and conflict in Northern Ireland have been present for a long time that people these days forgot the root cause of it. John Soule, a political scientist, studying this ongoing conflict, declared that, the conflict can be considered as a ritual wherein both sides are locked in a dance and cannot pull out of it. Using observations and interviews, he also stipulated that new recruits to the terrorist movements are being fueled by hatred and motivated by the desire to avenge fallen comrades, becoming oblivious to the original political purpose of the conflict.

Collaboration With The Moderates

Governments are sometimes known to have collaboration with the moderates inside the terrorist circles. If the government offers a deal to a heterogeneous terrorist organization, the leaders of that terrorist group will not hesitate to accept that deal. However, if the deal goes right and the moderate leaders’ returns to the government, the terrorists are left into the influence of the extremists who can lead to increase activities of militant groups and widespread terrorist violence.

Nevertheless, if the deal goes smoothly, then the government can require former terrorists who switched over to their side to help in counter-terrorism efforts and with their technical know-how, can improve the government’s chance in eliminating the terrorist threat.

Terrorists Groups Are Known To Have Internal Conflicts

Terrorist groups are also known to have internal conflicts, since the moderate leaders are more likely to accept government deals than the extremists’ leaders. While extremists’ leaders lead terrorist activities, moderates are seen to engage in less violence. When the government offers a deal to the moderates, they leave the group and allow the extremists to take over making the group more dangerous than before. This results in an increase in terrorist activities utilizing all the resources left by moderate leaders who turned to the government’s side.

Big Challenges When Confronting Acts Of Violence

Democratic states these days face big challenges when confronting acts of violence considered as terrorism. An over-reactive approach to the situation can alienate the population and damage the legitimacy of the government (which becomes more damaging than the terrorists’ activities). The credibility and capability of upholding the law by the police, the military and the government will also be undermined, when they prove incapable of handling such an event. The acts of violence must be approached in a steady, careful but immediate response with a positive result to maintain public confidence.

Anti-Terrorism Crime And Security Act

In the United Kingdom, a new law was passed called the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act after their success in handling the terrorists’ bombings and killings during the conflict in Northern Ireland. This act allows the government to detain indefinitely, without trial, a non-national suspected of being capable of or implicated in terrorist activity. However, according to the British Law Lords, they ruled that, “because only foreigners could be detained in this way, such an anti-terrorist law was discriminatory, disproportionate, and unlawful under the European Convention on Human Rights.”

References:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39343727/ns/world_news-europe/

http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/3271_bpsecurity.pdf

November 11, 2010 - Posted by Jasper Stone | Legal | Big Challenges When Confronting Acts Of Violence, Collaboration With The Moderates, Ireland, Irish Terror, Terrorists Groups Are Known To Have Internal Conflicts