Author: Augustine Anthuvan
Publication: Channel NewsAsia
Date: November 27, 2008
URL: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/392731/1/.html
International terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna
said the multiple assaults on Mumbai late Wednesday are "watershed attacks".
Professor Gunaratna, who heads the Singapore-based
International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the
S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that unless the Indian
government takes this threat seriously and takes decisive action, the threat
of terrorism will definitely grow in India.
Gunmen from the little-known Deccan Mujahedeen
group had claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have killed at least
100 people.
Professor Gunaratna said 'Deccan Mujahideen'
is simply a front name that the Indian Mujahideen uses. Indian Mujahideen
originates from a group called SIMI - Student Islamic Movement of India -
and its members are Indian nationals who have been inspired and influenced
by the Al-Qaeda.
He said: "The quality of this attack
showed that the Indian Mujahideen is a very capable organisation. Certainly,
it has planned this attack very carefully and attacks of this scale will mount
in the future.
"The only way to prevent that, the only
way to reduce the threat is to develop high-quality, high-grade intelligence
on these groups, on the individuals, and to detect and disrupt those organisations
- either to incarcerate or kill those individual leaders.
"Unless that is done, the threat of terrorism
will grow in India. So India must rethink, must totally revise its counter
terrorism policy and strategy as a result of this attack."
On the group's mode of operation, Professor
Gunaratna said: "The terrorist attack was exceptionally well planned.
They would have studied their targets very carefully. And in fact, what we
are seeing is that the terrorists have invested very significant amount of
time planning and preparing the attack.
"It is an Al-Qaeda style attack... the
timing was perfect. And in many ways, the group is being inspired by Al-Qaeda,
in terms of methodology and also in terms of target selection because they
selected high-profile, symbolic and strategic targets."
The professor said the terrorists are out
to instil fear within the Indian government and the Indian society. By selecting
a range of targets from hospital to luxury hotels, they showed that they could
attack multiple targets at any given time.
Reports have said that the Deccan or Indian
Mujahideen wanted to end the persecution of Indian Muslims whom they think
are being ill treated, and in extreme cases killed by the Indian government
and by the Hindus.
The professor said there is no truth in that
as the Indian people have treated their minorities reasonably well. He added
that the Indian Mujahideen members have been driven by a misperception - a
deviant and heretical doctrine.
Professor Gunaratna also believes that the
Indian forces are capable enough to handle the situation and the international
community should allow the country to resolve the crisis on its own.
