1643) Terror at the Globalization Stage

The Main Terrorist Threats to the Security of States

In the terms of globalization the international terrorism should be regarded not only as the threat to the individual states, but a challenge to all mankind. That has predetermined a number of radically new features of terrorism at the globalization stage. . .

First, Terrorism has changed its purposive orientation. Today terrorist organizations more frequently aim their efforts not just to the destabilization of situation or resolution of some short-term tasks, but to the achievement of large-scale goals like – seizure and redistribution of power, annexation of independent states’ territories with expulsion of local residents. Azerbaijan, who due to the Armenian aggression lost 20% of territory and acquired approximately a million of refugees and internally displaced persons can serve as an example of such practice. Tens of terror acts, committed in the rear areas of the country hundreds kilometres away from the opposition front line and taken 2000 civilian lives, have been carried out for the achievement of concrete political aim – alienation of Azerbaijan territory by means of aggressive separatism. One way or another these threats exist in other newly independent countries – Georgia, Russia, Moldova etc. The distinguishing feature of the terrorism in those countries is that it serves either to direct aggression of states, or to aggressive separatism carried out under the ethnic coverage. We can ascertain that today terrorism is tightly bound with separatism. It’s quite enough to analyse the terror acts committed within the past 40 years all over the world to convince oneself that the overwhelming majority of those crimes was committed by persons and groups devoted to separatism. For instance, Basque terrorists, extremist wing of Irish Republican Army, “Tigers of Liberation of Tamil Lama” and others.

Second, Practice demonstrates that terrorist and extremist organizations of different manifestations cooperate each other well. Political, religious extremism, aggressive separatism, anti-globalizm, left and rightwing radicalism etc. – they all are links of the same terrorist chain completing each other at different sites of terror activity. Coping with one link or one component would not constitute valid resolution of problem of terrorism in whole. For instance, that won’t be complete and final resolution of the problem if world community would direct its efforts only to the fighting international terrorism carried out under the religious cover. This struggle should not be divided into the “primary” and “secondary” directions, terrorism must be coped along all of the front line.

Third, Terrorist organizations cooperate with groups from other spheres of organized crime. Separatist regimes in the newly independent states and Nagorno Karabakh as well use the territories under their control for the purposes of illicit drugs, arms and people trafficking, money laundries and other illegal activity and direct the gained assets for the financing of terrorism. The US Department of State’s known report for 2001 clearly reflects the facts of use of the occupied Azerbaijan territories for the purposes of drugs transportation from Asia to Europe through Russia.

Fourth, Nowadays due to the globalization process and distribution of latest scientific and technologic achievements for common use the premises of industrial infrastructure in transit regions with high number of population, transport communications and life-maintenance systems are becoming more vulnerable. The sorrowful experience of Azerbaijan, where major part of attacks were aimed at the transport infrastructure serves another prove for the possibility of such scenario. Just imagine, how vulnerable are the Southern Caucasus countries, where realization of huge international projects on restoration of historical “Silk Way”, strengthening of Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor, construction of new oil and gas pipelines has already started. If we look at the map of the Southern Caucasus then we’ll get convinced that the separatist regimes in Nagorno Karabakh, Southern Osetia and Abkhaziya are the very source of military, terrorist and subversive threats to the regional economic cooperation, even with Armenia, we so passionately called to by some so called “specialists”. In this regard, the position of Azerbaijan Republic should be stressed again: our country cannot participate in the regional projects, providing cooperation with Armenia, regardless their attractive appearance, until the occupied Azeri lands are not liberated, military support to the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh is not ceased, all issues related with the observance of territorial integrity of the country and return of refugees to the places of permanent residence are not settled.

Fifth, The large-scale and many-headed terror activity is possible only under the terms of purposive support of some state’s official bodies. The modern terrorist organizations are powerful and strictly hierarchic structures with logistics corresponding to their scale and not confined to the national boundaries. They have established operative, intelligence, counter-intelligence and military backup units. Such kind of activity cannot exist without state support. Regarding the terrorist attacks committed in Azerbaijan we have numerous legal evidences proving that they have been arranged by the state agencies of Armenia. Let’s dwell particularly upon some of them.

Thanks to the cooperation between the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan Republic and Federal Service of Security of Russia a terrorist group of Armenian separatists operated within the Russian territory and headed by colonel Djan Oganesyan, chief of division of the Head department of national security of Armenia, his deputy major Ashot Galoyan and major Boris Simonyan, senior inspector of the Counter-terrorism department of the Federal counter-intelligence service of Russia. The “TIRR” Association headed by V. Petrosyan located in Moscow was financing that group, which had exploded several trains in Russian and Azerbaijan territory. All of the mentioned persons have been sentenced to different terms of imprisonment by the courts of Russian Federation and Azerbaijan Republic.

The fact of commitment of the explosion of the train in March 19th 1994 at one of the Baku underground railway stations (14 dead, 42 wounded) by members of “Sadval” terrorist separatist organization, operating in Dagestan Republic of Russian Federation, and its arrangement by special services of Republic of Armenia also has been proved through relevant court procedures. Number of witness testimonies and material evidences directly testify that guerrillas of that organization have passed the training on military-subversive activity at the camps of Armenian special services located in Lusoker settlement of Nairi district and Arzni district of Armenia, as well as at the specially created camps at the Magerramkend district of Dagestan Republic. Armenian special services have funded and provided that attack with all necessary explosive materials and technical devices. Azerbaijan special services have revealed 43 organizers and performers of that act, 30 of them were sentenced by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan Republic, the quest of the rest part of culprits hiding abroad is going on.

The extraordinary character of this crime is confined in the fact that the special services of one neighbouring to Azerbaijan country (Armenia) occupying its territories and sponsoring the separatist regime in the Western part of Azerbaijan (Nagorno Karabakh) have arranged the training for terrorists of the separatist organization seeking some Northern regions of Azerbaijan within the territory of his other neighbour (Russia).

Unfortunately that fact is accompanied by another one. By the end of the year 2000 a group of persons trying to inflame separatist movement in the northern part of Azerbaijan among the Avar people became more active. Several armed raids on the State Traffic Police post, Regional Police station and military regiment, explosion of the monument to Sheik Shamil in Zagatala-Balakan region have increased the tension since June of 2001. The investigation of those crimes has revealed the fact of contacts between the leader of that group Hadji Magomedov and his lately arrested assistant Shaban Bushdiyev with representatives of Armenian special services. In 1997 both gentlemen visited Yerevan and Khankendi in Nagorno Karabakh where they have discussed the issue of establishment of “Avar state” in Azerbaijan and supplement of 1000 units of automatic firearms and 1 million US dollars for that purpose. Later on they continued their meetings in Makhachkala where they have reached an agreement on supplement of 1000 units of automatic firearms and 300 thousands US dollars. Besides that H. Magomedov in December of 2001 visited Yerevan in order to get support to the idea and activity on establishment of “Djar-Balakan state” by Avar separatists. The main purpose of that visit was to get money and various types of arms, including thermal missiles, to be used in operations planned for spring-summer period like seizure of local authorities buildings, taking of chief officials as hostages whose release would be conditioned by liberation of prisoners.

This is the convincing evidence that the interrelations of separatists of different ethnic manifestations is one of the important elements of the international terrorism.

Finally, the Sixth feature of the terrorism at the globalization stage. These are the problems known as “Harbouring of terrorism” and “Apologising of terrorism”. The states realising this policy create all necessary terms for the terrorists for recreation and rest and provide them with the political shelter after their committing attacks in other countries, encourage dirty information campaigns oriented to the apologising of terrorism. But the attempts to make national heroes or fighters for just cause out of the terrorists are more dangerous because they contribute to the bringing up of young generation in the spirit of terrorist fighting traditions. There is a fair ground for the inclusion of Republic of Armenia into the number of such countries, because Armenia carries out the state policy of rehabilitation for the activists of the international Armenian terrorist groups, who in 70-80’s committed explosions at the “Orly” airport, Moscow underground, murder of Turkish diplomats in Switzerland and Greece, seizure of Turkish Embassy in Paris and other crimes. For instance, the famous international terrorist Monte Melkonyan, who had carried out terror attacks in France, after his liberation in 1990 had found a shelter in Armenia and later gone to Nagorno Karabakh where he had headed terrorist organizations responsible for massacres and expulsion of Azeri people. Armenian state officials, including president, have attended at his funerals in Yerevan in 1993 and later on he had been posthumously proclaimed a national hero of Armenia. Other well known terrorists Grant Markaryan and Vazgen Sislyan, one of the organizers of the seizure of Turkish Embassy in Paris in 1981, for their active engagement in the terrorist attacks against Azerbaijan were conferred with the titles of Karabakh war heroes.

The above mentioned features of the terrorism at the globalization stage predetermine the necessity of deepening international cooperation of special services of all countries of the world, which, in our opinion, should be based upon the following basic principles:

First, Strict counteraction to any attempts to give antiterrorist struggle some confessional or ethnic colours. Terrorism has neither religion, nor nation.

Second, Abandonment of “double standards” policies with regard to terrorism, extremism and separatism. Neither state can effectively combat these on its territory and ignore (or, sometimes, support) them in any other state.

Third, Acceptance of the “everywhere and always” principle envisaging that every state would assume an obligation to prevent criminal activity, search, detect and punish and/or extradite criminals regardless of time and location.

Fourth, Adoption of coordinated sanctions against the states one way or another supporting terrorist, extremist and separatist activities on the territory of other states.

Following these principles the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan Republic consistently works on the activation of cooperation with some states’ special services in sphere of combating terrorism and separatism. For example, the close cooperation with the Russian special services resulted in arrest and institution of legal proceedings against Azer Aslanov, who was commissioned by Armenian special services to explode a train moving along the Baku underground railroad in June 3rd 1994 (14 dead, 54 wounded).

Comprehension of the above features of terrorism at the globalization stage is stipulating active participation of Azerbaijan special services in the allied global counter-terrorist operation by means of information exchange, as well as the reveal and extradition of members of the international terrorist infrastructure. Since 11 September attacks the MNS of Azerbaijan has arrested and extradited to foreign partners 31 foreign citizens involved in international terrorist activity.

Azerbaijan special services will increase their efforts in the struggle against the international terrorism, because Azerbaijan knows very well where the unbridled, unpunished and unexposed by the international community terrorist activity may lead to. And not only activity of religious extremists, but separatists in first name.

The international community has taken a number of serious legislative defence measures against terrorism and separatism on the level of national legislatures and in the framework of internal law relations as well. All those documents regard terrorism and separatism like phenomena of the same kind. This approach has been reflected in the number of juridical documents of UN, like “Declaration on the measures on suppression of international terrorism”, International conventions “For the suppression of terrorist bombings” and “For the suppression of the financing of terrorism”. The heads of the CIS countries (excluding Armenia) have several times expressed their attitude towards this problem and signed subsequently in April 15th 1994 in Moscow and in February 10th 1995 in Almaty “Declaration on the observance of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders of the CIS member-states” and “Memorandum on the support of peace and stability in the CIS”.

It’s remarkable that those documents clearly and unambiguously state the correlation between terrorism and threats to the territorial integrity. Practically it constitutes the international juridical confirmation of the interdependence between terrorist and separatist activity.

Unfortunately, international community doesn’t use these international acts while assessing the policy of state terrorism carried out by the Republic of Armenia against the Azerbaijan Republic. And that leads to the absence of the substantial effect from conclusion of multilateral interdepartmental agreements between the CIS countries special services on suppression of terrorism. So, vitally necessary for our activity “Protocol on the cooperation and interaction of the CIS countries security and special service agencies in suppression of terrorist, separatist and other extremist activity, carried out under the ethnic, religious and political cover” adopted in September 2000 at the Kiyev session of the CIS member-states Security and Special Service Agencies Chiefs’ Council, in fact doesn’t function. Counter-terrorism Centre of CIS, established with a hope that it will warrant its name, submits us estimations of terrorist threats produced by the separatists in the North Caucasus simultaneously ignoring the clear interrelations between terrorism and separatist regimes in the countries of South Caucasus.

The globalizing world is crushing the rigid stereotypes. Formerly one could think that the security of one state could be provided at the expense of reduce of the security of another one, but today the opposite situation is inevitable. The security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of one state can’t be warranted, unless the other countries, in first name neighbouring ones, have the same guarantees. We are all in charge for each other in this vulnerable world. But, of course, only civilized countries may agree to this thesis, not aggressors. In this case the international community has to make the countries neglecting modern realities to follow the rules of civilized conduct.

The understanding and strict observance of those realities constitute the fundament of Azerbaijan’s position. Namely, there are serious terrorist threats to the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and dynamical development of humankind as well. The most part of sources, methods of realization, forms and particularities of those threats is known. They can be prevented by strict observance of the basic norms and principles of the international law within the framework, it should be stressed again, of the available international juridical mechanisms of combat of terrorism, separatism and other extremist activity carried out under the religious, ethnic and political cover. Attempts to cite the unavailability of such mechanisms, or necessary legislative base, or artificial politicization of the problem should be regarded as unacceptable endeavours to apologize own unwillingness to participate in the international cooperation against terrorism.

It doesn’t exclude, but moreover makes necessary to activate the process of improvement of the existing mechanisms of international cooperation and establishment of new ones. First of all, it deals with formation of universal institutional and legal bases for the suppression of terrorism, adoption of unanimously acknowledged juridical definitions of “terrorism”, “aggressive separatism”, “religious extremism” and others as components of the transnational criminal activity. Azerbaijan is ready for cooperation in all of these trends.

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