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WAR AGAINST TERRORISM |
Steadfast Following the US and
British air attacks on Al Qaeda training camps andTaliban military positions in
Afghanistan, the situation in most South Asian nations is tense. Almost all segments of
the population, however, seem to support the US-led campaign. Despite opposition from
communist outfits and a small number of Muslim groups, Nepal does not have too much to
worry about right now. If the war is prolonged, however, one cannot rule out unpredictable
spill-over effects By KESHAB POUDEL A moderate-intensity earthquake in
Afghanistan, a distant neighbor but a member of the Hindu Kush family, sends tremors all
the way to Nepal. Political turmoil and other upheaval in that land-locked mountainous
country, too, send periodic jolts into Nepal. The expansion of terrorist networks and the
strong presence of militants in Afghanistan in the end will bring negative consequences
for Nepal. If terrorist forces trained inside Afghanistan can hit a country like the
United States thousands of mile away, the threats to a small South Asian nation are
obviously more direct. This is why Nepalis from all communities
condemned the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and on the Pentagon and
rallied behind the US-led anti-terrorism coalition. Nepalis, who felt a great sense of
shock in the aftermath of attacks on the United States, approve the aerial bombardments on
suspected terrorist camps and Taliban military facilities.
The military operations against the
Taliban regime were not unexpected. Had Kabul handed over Saudi-born millionaire Osama bin
Laden, who Washington holds responsible for the September 11 attacks and a string of
earlier deadly assaults on US facilities and interests overseas, the West would not have
had to go inside Afghanistan. As members of the community of democratic nations, Western
leaders took nearly a month to investigate the attacks and find credible evidence of the
involvement of the Bin Laden network. Despite growing public pressure for immediate
retaliatory action against those who helped to carry out the devastating attacks, the
United States and other democratic governments knew they had to find conclusive evidence
of Al Qaeda's complicity before launching a military response. Aware of the lasting impact terrorism has
on various facets of the nation's life and economy, the Nepalese government promptly threw
its full support behind the US-led strikes against terrorist camps inside Afghanistan.
"His Majesty's Government of Nepal expresses its support for the United States and
the international coalition in their initiatives and actions against terrorism, as it is a
threat to international peace and security. There is a need for international cooperation
to root out terrorism in all its forms and facets," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs
statement said. Among political parties, however, there are
clear divisions over the US-led attacks on Afghanistan. Although some left parties raised
the voices against air strikes, a large number of common people, religious groups and
major political parties sided with the United State's declared move to eradicate terrorism
from the world. Being a small and landlocked country, Nepal requires peace for economic
development. Following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, Nepal's major economic sectors, including tourism, have suffered a major
setback. The sooner normalcy returns, the better for Nepal. "Events in Afghanistan will have a
significant impact on the economic, political and strategic life of Nepal," says
Professor Dhruba Kumar, of Tribhuvan University's Center for Nepal and Asian Studies.
"The US-led campaign can be expected to drastically reduce state-sponsored terrorism.
No country would want to see the emergence of another Bin Laden on their soil." Economically, Nepal has suffered much. The
country's principal exports to Western European countries and the United States have
plunged following US President George W. Bush's declaration of a global war on terrorism
and his warning to the Taliban regime to hand over Bin Laden or face the consequences. If
the conflict in Afghanistan escalates, Nepal, which is home to more than one million
Muslims, may have a difficult time. Nepalese Queries In recent days, Nepalis have shown a
growing interest in the history and culture of Afghanistan. After the Bin Laden network
was blamed for the September 11 attacks, Afghanistan became a hot topic of discussions in
Kathmandu. Almost all books on Afghanistan disappeared from store shelves within a few
weeks of the terrorist attacks. Newspapers carrying stories on Afghanistan witnessed a
rise in sales. "We have sold almost all our books
related to Afghanistan," says Madhab Lal Maharjan, executive director of Mandala Book
Point. "Books on Afghanistan were in very low demand before attacks, but now it has
suddenly gone up. Academics, in particular, seem to want more and more books on
Afghanistan." Other bookstores are reporting a similar
spurt in sales. "There is a sudden surge in interest in Afghanistan," says Shiva
Shrestha of Himalayan Books. "Dozens of people visit us in search of books on the
Taliban and Afghanistan. I have been in this business for more than five decade and have
never seen such demand for publications related to Afghanistan." In the course of the Gorkha expansion in
1800s, Nepalese soldier marched toward Lahore, the capital of Ranjit Singh's Punjab. But
Nepali soldiers did not venture beyond that point. Consequently, Afghanistan remained out
of the Nepali consciousness. Even in modern times, only a few Nepalis
made an effort to understand the problems of Afghanistan, its political and geographic
compulsions and its strategic importance. The growing interest in that country, which
overcame British and Soviet attempts at subjugation, may be attributed to damage events
there have caused to the Nepalese economy. Growing Muslim fundamentalism in Afghanistan is
another cause of concern for Nepalis. During the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan, during which the Mujahideen resistance backed by the United States, Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia fought a bloody liberation war, Nepal was forced to maintain silence,
especially because its southern neighbor remained in close alliance with the Soviet Union.
Although the Nepalese government officially opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,
it could hardly do anything more against Moscow's policies. During the Soviet occupation,
dozens of Afghan refugees came to Nepal through India. Now the situation is different. Afghanistan
is fighting a lonely battle, evidently taking the side of Bin Laden and his network.
Moreover, Nepal's powerful southern and northern neighbors are supporting the US-led
campaign against international terrorism. As most Arab nations are still reluctant to
support the US and British air strikes, Muslim countries in the Gulf region, which employ
tens of thousands of Nepalis, may readjust their labor policies. This would add to Nepal's
economic woes, since remittances from the Gulf have assumed greater importance in recent
years. Western diplomats, including the acting ambassador of the United States, have
welcomed Nepal's stand against international terrorism and its commitment to eradicate it
from the world. If the conflict lasts for months, the
countries of South Asia could see mounting problems. More widespread and violent outbursts
of Muslim sentiments in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India cannot be ruled out. Nepal cannot
remain free itself from serious religious disturbances in the region. According to an
estimate, Nepal has a small number of radical Muslims trained in Taliban schools in
Afghanistan. "If the conflict last for another few more months, Nepal would be
greatly vulnerable to communal conflicts," says a political analyst. Clash of Civilizations Many analysts see the current conflict as
part of the "clash of civilizations", which Harvard Professor Samuel P.
Huntington predicted several years ago. With non-Muslim nations fully behind the United
States, liberal Muslim nations taking a middle course, and hard-line Muslim nations,
including Iran and Iraq, opposing the attacks against the Taliban, the fault lines are
becoming increasingly apparent. "In the emerging world, relations
between states and groups from different civilizations will be close and will often be
antagonistic. Yet some inter-civilization relations are more conflict-prone than others
are. At the micro level, the most violent fault lines are between Islam and its Orthodox,
Hindu, African, and western Christian neighbors. At the macro level, the dominant division
is between ëthe West and the rest', with most intense conflict occurring between Muslim
and Asian societies on the one hand, and the west on the other. The dangerous clashes of
the future are likely to arise from the interaction of western arrogance, Islamic
intolerance and assertiveness," Huntington wrote in "The Clash of Civilization
and the Remaking of World Order". "Spurred by modernization, global
politics is being reconfigured along cultural lines. Peoples and countries with similar
cultures are coming together. Peoples and countries with different cultures are coming
apart. Political boundaries increasingly are redrawn to coincide with cultural ones:
ethnic, religious, and civilization. Cultural communities are replacing Cold War blocs,
and the fault lines between civilizations are becoming the central lines of conflict in
global politics." Nepalese scholars agree that the initial
reactions to the US-led attacks on Afghanistan come close to Huntington's prediction.
Despite the atrocities committed by the Bin Laden network against the innocent civilians
in the United States, a large number of Muslim people and states like Iran and Iraq appear
to have sided with the Taliban's contention that the United States is waging war against
Islam. "Muslim reaction the US-led attack on Afghanistan clearly indicates that even
secular Muslim states like Indonesia and Malaysia cannot wholeheartedly support the United
States and its allies," says Professor Dhruba Kumar. "Muslim countries in the
Gulf [which have traditionally been US allies] hold similar views." Reaction of Nepalese Muslims Nepal has a fairly small number of radical
Muslims, but they may be enough to create trouble while Nepal is already struggling to
maintain law and order in the midst of the Maoist insurgency. According to the Population Census of 2001,
Islam is the third largest religion in Nepal after Hinduism and Buddhism. Preliminary
estimates put the Muslim population in Nepal at about five percent. According to the Census of 1991, there were
653,218 Muslims in Nepal. The central development region has largest concentration of
303,843 Muslims. Muslims number 156,425, 131,093, 58,374 and 3,483 in the eastern,
western, mid-western and far-western development region respectively. Muslims inhabit all
three geographic regions, mountains, hills and terai. The western hills have about 11,110
Muslims. The mood of the people during first days of
the air strikes shows that Nepalis are in favor of action against terrorist outfits inside
Afghanistan. Although radical communist groups issued a statement denouncing the US-led
attacks, they do not appear to reflect popular sentiment. When Monday's newspapers came out with
banner headlines on the US and British air strikes against terrorist targets in
Afghanistan, the reaction was subdued. Students at Muslim schools attended class as usual.
"We cannot support terrorism in any part of the world," says Niyaz Ahmad,
principal of Madarsa Islamiya School run under the Nepalese Jame Masjid. "Islam is a
religion based on peace. The US, however, must avoid the killing of common and innocent
people in Afghanistan." A small section of Muslims, however, is
against the US attacks, accusing Washington and London of waging war against Islam.
"We cannot remain silent when innocent Muslims are being killed in Afghanistan,"
says a Muslim cleric on condition of anonymity. "We might take some sort of decision
after Friday prayers this week," he adds. "One cannot hold Bin Laden responsible
for the September 11 terrorist attacks without providing full evidence," says
Sayabuddin Ahmad, a Muslim from Parsa district who sells goats. After last month's attacks on the United
States, the majority of Muslims have rallied behind Washington. A small segment of
Muslims, however, blamed the western media for publishing provocative stories linking
Islam to terrorism. Muslim politicians agree that no one should
be allowed to use religion to kill people. "If someone is found guilty of killing
innocent people in the name of Jihad, there is no question of protecting them," said
MP Mohammed Aftab Alam of the ruling Nepali Congress. "Nepalese Muslims have a long
history of tolerance and have been living in harmony with people of other religions and
cultures." Reactions of Political Parties While Muslims have been restrained in their
reaction to the air strikes on Afghanistan, some radical communist parties have condemned
the US and British operations as an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Afghanistan. The radical left parties also see the attacks as part of a design to expand
American imperialism in the world. While other communist parties, as usual,
stand at almost the same rhetoric level, democratic forces such as the Nepali Congress,
the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhavana Party are more supportive of the
US-led campaign. "We call all progressive forces in the
world to oppose American imperialism," says MP Lilamani Pokharel, general secretary
of the United People's Front. "Americans are responsible for killing innocent people
and organizing terrorist acts. We are against all forms of religious fundamentalism, but
we cannot support the naked attack of US imperialism against sovereign Afghans." Members of other radical left parties echo
Pokharel's sentiments. "We condemn the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington,
but we cannot support the aggression by the US and western imperialism against the
independence and sovereignty of Afghanistan," says MP Nava Raj Subedi, a member of
the National People's Front which has five MPs in parliament. "The attack on
Afghanistan is an attack against the sovereignty and independence of that country." Left parties are also critical of the
government's decision to support the US-led alliance. "By supporting the US actions
in Afghanistan, the Deuba government has stood as a stooge of American imperialism,"
said MP Pokharel, taking special time in the House of Representatives on Monday. Likewise,
leaders of other leftist parties like Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), Unity
Center and Marxist Leninist have denounced the US strikes on Afghanistan. ìThe attack
reflects the imperialist attitude of the United States,î said Narayan Man Bijukchhe,
President of NWPP. Implications for the Maoist
Movement After the September 11 attacks on the
United States, the Maoists suffered one of the major setbacks of their six-year
insurgency. The deployment of Indian security forces along the Nepal-India border and the
official statement of Indian Foreign and Defense Minister Jaswant Singh describing Nepal's
Maoists as terrorists added pressure on the rebel leaders to find away to end the
insurgency. Although the government and Maoist
insurgents agreed to a cease-fire just a month before the terrorist attacks on the United
States, the new turn of events has paved the way to bringing normalcy as soon as possible.
Despite sporadic acts of violence, including extortion and intimidation, the government
and Maoists maintain that they will find an amicable solution to the violent insurgency. What is Afghanistan? "Every rock, every hill has its
story," said former British prime minister Winston Churchill in his dispatch to The
Daily Telegraph in 1897, describing the hills and mountains of then north-west frontier
and nearby Afghanistan. Churchill's observation of the hills and
mountains of Afghanistan and western frontier states reflected the stories of western
powers entering India passing through the Hindu Kush. For centuries before leaving the Indian
subcontinent, British colonial power treated Afghanistan as a buffer between British India
and Russia. As soon as the British left India, a power vacuum emerged. The Soviet Union
started to penetrate Afghanistan, eventually sending in troops in 1979. As soon as the
Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the Afghan people entered an era of unmitigated violence,
instability and hardship. After forcing out Soviet troops, Afghans were ruled by religious
zealots for six years who were ousted by the fundamentalist Taliban with alleged support
from Bin Laden. As soon as the Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan, the United States,
too, withdrew its engagement with the country, leaving it to battle-hardened warlords.
They converted their skill and strength acquired during the anti-Soviet war to promote
terrorism in the name of religion. Afghans were turbulent people who knew how
to conquer but not how to conciliate, according to a commentary by Percival Spear in the
Oxford History of Modern India. They could die for a cause but not compromise for it. The United States and its coalition
partners spent nearly a month using diplomatic means to seek a positive response from
Afghanistan on handing over Bin Laden. They launched military operations against terrorist
training camp run by Bin Laden after the Taliban regime refused to hand over the fugitive.
The challenge now is to avoid civilian casualties in order to deny Bin Laden and the
Taliban regime an opportunity to incite Muslims against the US-led campaign. The sooner
the terrorist outfits are destroyed, the better for world peace and prosperity. The
banality of this statement is more than outweighed by the urgency of the task. |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
