Terror on our minds

By CATHERINE MASTERS

Of the 76 countries and regions listed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' travel advisory website, New Zealanders are warned to steer clear of 38. Anyone already in those lands should leave. Another 19 are listed as high risk and people are told to defer non-essential travel. Still more are listed as having some risk.

"Widespread criminal violence, kidnappings and attacks on foreigners," reads Angola. "We advise against all travel," for East Timor, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, Indonesia, Kryzstan. "Be security conscious. Avoid crowded/landmark places. Possibility of terrorist action," for Egypt, Kenya, Laos, Cambodia and Georgia. The list goes on.

It is hard to avoid the impression the world is not as safe as it used to be. It seems for the past three years, since two aeroplanes ploughed into two tall buildings in America on this weekend in 2001, terror has dominated the news.

In 2002, the Bali bombing killed New Zealanders and Australians even though it was on neither country's home soil. It was still too close to home. The United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and a jittery Western world tried to carry on as usual, despite constant kidnappings and beheadings posted on the internet.

This year, the bombing of train stations in Madrid and the ghastliness of Russia with bombs downing aeroplanes and terrorism again caught live on TV as Chechen rebels heralded another new low with the gratuitous shooting of children as they ran for their lives. Now, the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Has the world changed? The answer is no, not really, and yes, quite a bit.

Terrorism has been around for centuries. The sword has been upgraded to the bomb, the actors have changed, the targets have changed and the number of victims has escalated, but terrorism is as part of the political landscape now as it has been always. Stay vigilant and get used to it, say the experts.

"There has been politically motivated terrorism since the year dot," says terrorism expert Professor Clive Williams from the Australian National University. "It's just it wasn't always called terrorism in those days."

In the name of religion, the Crusaders slaughtered women and children, and Guy Fawkes has a day of celebration named after him, even though his plot to blow up the British Parliament failed.

Israel was born out of two terrorist groups, Irgun and the Stern Gang; the Palestine Liberation Organisation was born out of displaced Arabs and the desire for an independent state, their message passed on by the hijacking of international airliners.

The anarchists in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century assassinated political figures to create a state of chaos and bring down governments, and from the 1970s to 1990s the radical Bader-Meinhof German group of young intellectuals conducted kidnappings and murders.

These groups have come and gone and George Bush's war on terror is now targeting the new Islamic fundamentalist campaign. Even he admitted it could not be won, before hurriedly backtracking.

"I don't think you can win it," he said, but soon after changed it to "we are winning and we will win".

There will be some victories in this so-called war but Williams says terrorism is here to stay and is not just perpetrated by fanatical groups or individuals.

He points to the scale of the slaughter by Germany during World War II or the Russians under Stalin, or the Chinese under Mao.

"I mean, they killed scads more people than terrorist groups ever did. It is a form of terrorism. It's just the perpetrators are a bit different."

Campaigns of terror have worked. One of of the most successful was waged by Jews against the British in Palestine, culminating with the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, - "that's an example of a considerable success".

The Jewish group Irgun, which fought British rule, in 1946 blew up the hotel which was a British military post. Ninety-one people were killed, including women, children and Jews. The British left Palestine and in 1948 Israel was an independent state. Other terrorist groups have not been so successful, such as the ideologically driven Bader-Meinhof group. "Those sorts of people have been less successful because they've got older and they've got mortgages and, you know, have settled down."

Professor Williams' colleague Dr Michael McKinley, also a terrorism expert from the Australian National University, agrees terrorism has long played a role in shaping the world.

"The PLO were taken seriously after they committed acts of terrorism, particularly airline hijacking, starting in the 1960s.

"The IRA were taken much more seriously than they would have been in the contemporary sense after they took up what they called the Armed Struggle in 1969.

"The Basque region of Spain got much more autonomy than it would have otherwise once Eta came to the fore.

"It's always been there, it's always been a problem area and it's usually because the people who are involved don't have many other means of drawing attention to their


The history of political terror

The Black Hand

A secret group formed in 1911 with the aim of using violence to create a united Serbia.

Biggest act was assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir-apparent of Austria.

Credited with helping to start World War I.

* * *

Red Brigade

Evolved out of student protest movement of the 1960s supposedly supporting the working classes to become Italy's foremost terrorist group.

Biggest act was kidnapping former Prime Minister Aldo Moro, then killing him.

* * *

Symbionese Liberation Army

American-based terrorist group, killing and robbing in the the early to mid-1970s.

Best known for kidnapping publishing heiress Patricia Hearst who went on to join the group.

* * *

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

Armed wing of political party Sinn Fein, responsible for numerous bombings of tube stations and shopping centres in Britain and Ireland, with the aim of getting rid of British rule from Ireland.

Notable attack: Omagh in Northern Ireland, exploded a bomb in 1998, killing 29 people, mainly women and children.

* * *

Black September.

One of the most notorious of a number of armed Palestinian terrorist groups.

Biggest act was taking Israeli athletes competing at the Munich Olympic Games hostage in 1972, resulting in the death of them all.