DOCSLIB.ORG

Tamil Tigers - “Shoot to Kill” Policy – Treatment - Ethnic Indians

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tamil Tigers - “Shoot to Kill” Policy – Treatment - Ethnic Indians Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: MYS33843 Country: Malaysia Date: 15 October 2008 Keywords: Malaysia - Recruiting practices - Tamil Tigers - “Shoot to kill” policy – Treatment - Ethnic Indians This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Please provide information on the current recruiting practices of Tamil Tigers in Malaysia for money and personnel. 2. Do the authorities have a “Shoot to kill” policy that results in average fortnightly deaths? 3. Does the government target ethnic Indian Malays? RESPONSE 1. Please provide information on the current recruiting practices of Tamil Tigers in Malaysia for money and personnel. No definitive information has been located on the current recruiting practices of Tamil Tigers in Malaysia for money and personnel. However, sources indicate that the LTTE has used Malaysia for its campaign for the establishment of a separate homeland in Sri Lanka and found a fertile land for its cause among the Tamil diasporas long frustrated over the Malaysian government’s policy for preferential treatment of the native Malays. The South Asia Terrorism Portal comments that: The LTTE has been proscribed, designated or banned as a terrorist group by a number of governments - India, Malaysia, USA, Canada, UK, Australia - countries where the LTTE has significant terrorist infrastructure for disseminating propaganda, raising funds, procuring and shipping supplies to support their terrorist campaign in Sri Lanka (‘Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)’ (undated), satp website http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/terroristoutfits/LTTE.HTM - Accessed 9 October 2008 – Attachment 1). Reporting on an interview by the Sri Lankan foreign minister, The Lanka Newspaper states that: Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera suspects Malaysia and Singapore may be `clearing houses` for funds raised around the world by the LTTE to finance its struggle for a separate homeland in Sri Lanka (‘Malaysia, Singapore `clearing houses` for LTTE? - Mangala Samaraweera’ 2006, The Lanka Newspaper, 1 June http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/5/7138.html - Accessed 9 October 2008 – Attachment 2). In November 2005, Natasha Robinson of The Australian commented that: Melbourne TAFE lecturer Thillai Jeyakumar sparked the interest of ASIO officers when he ordered hang-gliders from a NSW business and then shipped them to Malaysia. Mr Jeyakumar, also known as Jay Jeyakumar, is a member of the Melbourne-based charity the Tamil Co-ordinating Committee, whose members were raided by Australian Federal Police last week. An annual statement that the TCC provided to Consumer Affairs Victoria and obtained by The Australian shows that in 2003 more than half of the donations forwarded by the charity were sent to a fund in Malaysia described by security sources as "the leading Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) front organisation in Malaysia". The annual statement said TCC's total income in the year to June 2003 was $269,838. Of that, $183,290 was sent directly to orphanages and hospitals in LTTE-controlled northeast Sri Lanka but most of that amount - $95,000 - went to the World Tamil Relief Fund in Malaysia (Robinson, Natasha 2005, ‘Tamil-link lecturer in ASIO probe’, The Australian, 30 November http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,17410944-2702,00.html - Accessed 9 October 2008 – Attachment 3). Referring to the suspicion held by the governments of Malaysia and Sri Lanka on the activities of the LTTE in Malaysia, lankanewspapers.com comments that: Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama met his Malaysian counterpart Dr. Rayes Yatim for bilateral talks at the Asia-Middle East Ministerial Summit, held here over the weekend, where he reminded him of Sri Lanka’s request. `We have reason to believe that the LTTE are raising and channeling these funds to procure arms through Malaysia's banking system. In the UK we found that the LTTE had been extorting money from the Tamil Diaspora to the tune of five million sterling pounds a month while in France it amounted to seven million sterling pounds. In addition to this, the outfit’s narcotics, human trafficking and smuggling operations generated up to US $ 300 million` Bogollagama said (‘Sri Lanka reminds Malaysia of its request on LTTE’ 2008, lankanewspapers.com website, 9 April http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2008/4/26579.html - Accessed 9 October 2008 – Attachment 4). Commenting on the Tamil rebels’ heavy reliance on contributions from expatriate Tamils living in North America and Europe, and the role played by Malaysia as an conduit for the funds, The Lanka Academic reported in 2006 that: … Tamil Tiger rebels funnel contributions through Malaysia and Singapore to buy weapons in Thailand and Cambodia … Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera told The New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur that his government has asked for help from those countries to curb fundraising and weapons purchases by the separatist rebels. The rebels are believed to rely heavily on contributions from expatriate Tamils living in North America and Europe. “The process of channelling funds raised in European Union nations and the United States to Malaysia and Singapore is rather complicated. That is why we are seeking the cooperation of countries like Malaysia,” Samaraweera said in an interview with the Times (‘Report: Tamil Tigers use Malaysia, Singapore to channel rebel funds, Sri Lankan FM says’ 2006, The Lanka Academic, 1 June http://www.ipcs.org/Jun_06_SAsrilanka.pdf – Accessed 7 October 2008 – Attachment 5). In the wake of the November 2007 demonstration organized by the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ordered the arrest of five leaders linking them, among other things, to Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ('Detained ethnic Indians a threat to Malaysia's security' 2008, Times of India, 3 April – Attachment 6) although no definitive information has been located to link them to the LTTE. However, a 2007 article quotes P. Ramasamy, former professor of history at University Kebangsaan Malaysia who was appointed by the LTTE on its Constitutional Affairs Committee in 2003, as saying that Tamils in Malaysia are active contributors to the Tamil Eelam cause (Vembu, Venkatesan 2007, ‘Malaysian Indians look at LTTE’, Daily News & Analysis, 29 November http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1136140&pageid=0 - Accessed 14 October 2008 – Attachment 7). It continues further that: Angry ethnic Indians who marched in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday [25 November 2007] to protest race-based discrimination in Malaysia carried portraits of Mahatma Gandhi as a symbol of their non-violent struggle. “But if their genuine grievances continue to be ignored, (Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers leader) Velupillai Prabakaran could soon replace Gandhi as their inspiration,” warns P. Ramasamy... In an interview to DNA from Singapore, Ramasamy …connected the dots that link the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia (which accounts for most of the Indian population there) to the Tamil Eelam movement in Sri Lanka (Vembu, Venkatesan 2007, ‘Malaysian Indians look at LTTE’, Daily News & Analysis, 29 November http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1136140&pageid=0 - Accessed 14 October 2008 – Attachment 7). In contrast to the dearth of recent information on the LTTE’s activities in Malaysia, a 2001 RRT Research Response lists several earlier reports covering the period up to 1996 (RRT Country Research 2001, Research Response MYS14552, 7 March – Attachment 8). For a recent investigation into the LTTE’s fund raising activities in Canada, see Bell, Stewart 2008, ‘Toronto non-profit raised millions for Tamil Tigers’, National Post, 18 August http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=732309 - Accessed 8 October 2008 – Attachment 9). 2. Do the authorities have a “Shoot to kill” policy that results in average fortnightly deaths? 3. Does the government target ethnic Indian Malays? No information has been found to indicate that the authorities have a “Shoot to kill” policy that results in average fortnightly deaths or target ethnic Indian Malays. However, the government’s preferential programs designed to boost the position of bumiputras have resulted in minorities lacking opportunities in higher education, government employment, business permits and licenses, and ownership of land. As a result, they perceive that they are discriminated against and marginalized. In his 2000 article, ‘Decades of official discrimination have turned Malaysia's ethnic Indians into a disgruntled underclass’, Anthony Spaeth describes the Indian Malays’ view as: follows: ... Race is the big divide in Malaysia, as it has been ever since the watershed race riots of 1969. In his 20 years in power, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has tried to uplift the Malays, who make up 55% of the 22 million population, and guarantee them a large percentage of available business opportunities. The second-largest group, the Chinese, were supposed to lose their disproportionate grip on the country's economy. But it may be the Indians who were the real losers. Most were imported a century ago to work the rubber plantations and tin mines, and they still dominate the bottom rungs of the social ladder. "Indians have neither the political nor the economic leverage to break out of their vicious cycle of poverty," says Selvakumaran Ramachandran, an Indian-Malaysian academic who works for the United Nations Development Program. "If their problems are not arrested and reversed, it is almost certain they will emerge as an underclass." Already, Indians have the lowest share of the nation's corporate wealth: 1.5%, compared to 19.4% for the Malays and 38.5% for the Chinese.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Tragic Orphans: Indians in Malaysia
    BIBLIOGRAPHY Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Tunku. Looking Back: The Historic Years of Malaya and Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka Antara, 1977. ———. Viewpoints. Kuala Lumpur: Heinemann Educational Books (Asia), 1978. Abdul Rashid Moten. “Modernization and the Process of Globalization: The Muslim Experience and Responses”. In Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century, edited by K.S. Nathan and Mohammad Hashim Kamali. Singapore: Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, 2005. Abraham, Collin. “Manipulation and Management of Racial and Ethnic Groups in Colonial Malaysia: A Case Study of Ideological Domination and Control”. In Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations in Malaysia, edited by Raymond L.M. Lee. Illinois: Northern Illinois University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1986. ———. The Naked Social Order: The Roots of Racial Polarisation in Malaysia. Subang Jaya: Pelanduk, 2004 (1997). ———. “The Finest Hour”: The Malaysian-MCP Peace Accord in Perspective. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2006. Abu Talib Ahmad. “The Malay Community and Memory of the Japanese Occupation”. In War and Memory in Malaysia and Singapore, edited by Patricia Lim Pui Huen and Diana Wong. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2000. ———. The Malay Muslims, Islam and the Rising Sun: 1941–1945. Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, 2003. Ackerman, Susan E. and Raymond L.M. Lee. Heaven in Transition: Innovation and Ethnic Identity in Malaysia. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1988. Aeria, Andrew. “Skewed Economic Development and Inequality: The New Economic Policy in Sarawak”. In The New Economic Policy in Malaysia: Affirmative Action, Ethnic Inequalities and Social Justice, edited by Edmund Terence Gomez and Johan Saravanamuttu.
    [Show full text]
  • Twenty Years of De Facto State Studies: Progress, Problems, and Prospects Scott Pegg
    Twenty Years of de facto State Studies: Progress, Problems, and Prospects Scott Pegg Subject: World Politics Online Publication Date: Jul 2017 DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.516 Weblink: http://politics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637- e-516 In This Article • Introduction • Progress o Nation-Building in De Facto States o State-Building in De Facto States o Benefits to the Lack of Recognition? o Democratization without Sovereignty o Data Collection and Empirical Measurements o Engagement without Recognition • Problems o Defining De Facto States o Numbers and Longevity of De Facto States o Polemical and Politicized Discourse • Prospects • Acknowledgment • References • Notes Summary and Keywords It has been almost 20 years since the publication of International Society and the De Facto State by Scott Pegg in 1998, the first book-length substantive theoretical attempt to investigate the phenomenon of de facto states—secessionist entities that control territory, provide governance, receive popular support, persist over time, and seek widespread recognition of their proclaimed sovereignty and yet fail to receive it. Even though most de facto states are relatively small and fragile actors, in the intervening years the study of de facto or contested or unrecognized statehood has expanded dramatically. The de facto state literature has contributed significantly to the growing recognition that the international system is far more variegated than is commonly perceived. An initial focus on the external ___________________________________________________________________ This is the author's manuscript of the article published in final edited form as: Pegg, S. (2017). Twenty Years of de facto State Studies: Progress, Problems, and Prospects.
    [Show full text]
  • PEARL Factsheet
    D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 | F A C T S H E E T TAMIL MEMORIALIZATION UNDER THREAT People for Equality and Relief in Lanka K O P P A Y T H U Y I L U M I L L A M Picture: Tamil Guardian Security forces have perpetrated several PEARL verified at least two cases filed by incidents of harassment, threats, and perhaps police in an attempt to ban events in their even physical violence in relation to Tamil entirety. Notably, the courts declined to issue memorialization efforts over the last few a blanket ban on commemorations. weeks, particularly in connection with Maaveerar Naal, the Tamil National “Despite the increased ability to remember our dead in recent years, this Maaveerar Naal we Remembrance Day observed on November were painfully reminded how much we remain at 27, in the North-East of Sri Lanka. As in recent the mercy of the state and the whim of Sinhala years, Tamils from across the North-East politicians. This year were forced to dismantle gravestones – over ten years after military organized memorial events at the sites of LTTE destroyed our cemeteries, they made us destroy cemeteries destroyed by the government of them again. Who knows what we will have to Sri Lanka. However, the government said it did go through next year.” not grant permission for the events to take – Witness, Vaaharai Maaveerar Naal event, place.[1] November 2018 [1] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/no-permission-maaveerar-naal-commemoration-says-sri-lankan- govt Police Attempt to Ban Commemoration Events Koppay, Jaffna: police applied for a ban Except for the display of those items, ahead of the day under Penal Code §120 and Magistrate Sinnaththurai Satheestharan said PTA regulations.[1] Unknown persons the event could go ahead.[3] circulated a fake notice that the court had Kayts, Jaffna: police also requested a banned commemorations to Tamil media.[2] blanket ban on commemorations at the On November 23, the Jaffna Magistrate Court destroyed LTTE cemetery in Chatty.
    [Show full text]
  • Framing Interethnic Conflict in Malaysia: a Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage on the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf)
    International Journal of Communication 6 (2012), 166–189 1932–8036/20120166 Framing Interethnic Conflict in Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage on the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) LAI FONG YANG Taylor's University Malaysia MD SIDIN AHMAD ISHAK University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur Despite repeated warnings from the Malaysian government, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally drew thousands of Indians protesting on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on November 25, 2007. Mistreatment of Indians and lack of press coverage of their plight had been commonplace for years. By employing framing as the theoretical framework and content analysis as the research method, this study examines what perspectives newspapers have created that influence citizens’ understanding of the Hindraf movement. Three mainstream newspapers were found to focus on the conflict frame, and their representation of Hindraf articulated a hegemonic discourse that was prejudicial to the interests of the group and contrary to a spirit of democratic inquiry. The dissimilar coverage of the same issue by the alternative newspaper denoted that publication’s varied points of view, which were rooted in different political beliefs, cultural assumptions and institutional practices. Introduction Since gaining independence in 1957, the Malaysian government has viewed interethnic relations as a real challenge to the social stability of the country (Abdul Rahman, 2000; Baharuddin, 2005; Brown, 1994). As early as 1970, Mahathir Mohamad, who was then a medical doctor and later became the fourth and longest-serving prime minister of Malaysia, claimed that there was never true racial harmony in Malaysia. In his much-debated and once-banned book, The Malay Dilemma, he argued that although there was a certain amount of tolerance and accommodation, racial harmony in Malaysia was neither real nor Lai Fong Yang: [email protected] Md Sidin Ahmadd Ishak: [email protected] Date submitted: 2011–06–03 Copyright © 2012 (Lai Fong Yang & Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak).
    [Show full text]
  • Identity and Language of Tamil Community in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges
    DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2012. V48. 17 Identity and Language of Tamil Community in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges + + + M. Rajantheran1 , Balakrishnan Muniapan2 and G. Manickam Govindaraju3 1Indian Studies Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak, Malaysia 3School of Communication, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia Abstract. Malaysia’s ruling party came under scrutiny in the 2008 general election for the inability to resolve pressing issues confronted by the minority Malaysian Indian community. Some of the issues include unequal distribution of income, religion, education as well as unequal job opportunity. The ruling party’s affirmation came under critical situation again when the ruling government decided against recognising Tamil language as a subject for the major examination (SPM) in Malaysia. This move drew dissatisfaction among Indians, especially the Tamil community because it is considered as a move to destroy the identity of Tamils. Utilising social theory, this paper looks into the fundamentals of the language and the repercussion of this move by Malaysian government and the effect to the Malaysian Indians identity. Keywords: Identity, Tamil, Education, Marginalisation. 1. Introduction Concepts of identity and community had been long debated in the arena of sociology, anthropology and social philosophy. Every community has distinctive identities that are based upon values, attitudes, beliefs and norms. All identities emerge within a system of social relations and representations (Guibernau, 2007). Identity of a community is largely related to the race it represents. Race matters because it is one of the ways to distinguish and segregate people besides being a heated political matter (Higginbotham, 2006).
    [Show full text]
  • The Israeli-Sri Lankan Relationship
    The Israeli-Sri Lankan Relationship by Punsara Amarasinghe BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,962, March 12, 2021 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Following Indian premier Narendra Singh Modi’s historic visit to Israel in 2017, bilateral relations between India and Israel were elevated into a strategic partnership. But this was not Israel’s first successful diplomatic venture in South Asia. India’s tiny neighbor, Sri Lanka, had a strategic alliance with Israel long before India developed one. During the Cold War era, Sri Lanka was viewed as an Israeli success story in the region. Jewish relations with Sri Lanka have a long history that dates all the way back to the biblical epoch: the Sri Lankan city of Galle is said to be the city of Tarshish, to which King Solomon sent merchant ships. Beyond the biblical legacy, the Jewish presence in the island nation thrived under British rule, as many European Jews held prominent positions in the colonial administration. In the early stage of British rule, then Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Sir Alexander Johnston proposed the establishment of a Jewish settlement on the island, an idea that was not taken up by the colonial office in London. Both Israel and Sri Lanka became independent states in 1948. At Israel’s inception, it faced diplomatic hostility from the Arab world, and many post-colonial countries—including India—refused to recognize it as an independent state. But Sri Lanka’s first PM, D.S. Senanayake, initiated the island nation’s cooperation with Israel, despite the disapproval of many Asian and African states.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Europeans, the Indian Coolies and Empire: Colonialisation and Christianized Indians in Colonial Malaya & Singapore, C
    Black Europeans, the Indian Coolies and Empire: Colonialisation and Christianized Indians in Colonial Malaya & Singapore, c. 1870s - c. 1950s By Marc Rerceretnam A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Sydney. February, 2002. Declaration This thesis is based on my own research. The work of others is acknowledged. Marc Rerceretnam Acknowledgements This thesis is primarily a result of the kindness and cooperation extended to the author during the course of research. I would like to convey my thanks to Mr. Ernest Lau (Methodist Church of Singapore), Rev. Fr. Aloysius Doraisamy (Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Singapore), Fr. Devadasan Madalamuthu (Church of St. Francis Xavier, Melaka), Fr. Clement Pereira (Church of St. Francis Xavier, Penang), the Bukit Rotan Methodist Church (Kuala Selangor), the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore), National Archives of Singapore, Southeast Asia Room (National Library of Singapore), Catholic Research Centre (Kuala Lumpur), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Mr. Clement Liew Wei Chang, Brother Oliver Rodgers (De Lasalle Provincialate, Petaling Jaya), Mr. P. Sakthivel (Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, Petaling Jaya), Ms. Jacintha Stephens, Assoc. Prof. J. R. Daniel, the late Fr. Louis Guittat (MEP), my supervisors Assoc. Prof. F. Ben Tipton and Dr. Lily Rahim, and the late Prof. Emeritus S. Arasaratnam. I would also like to convey a special thank you to my aunt Clarice and and her husband Alec, sister Caryn, my parents, aunts, uncles and friends (Eli , Hai Long, Maura and Tian) in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, who kindly took me in as an unpaying lodger.
    [Show full text]
  • Hindus in South Asia & the Diaspora: a Survey of Human Rights 2007
    Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2007 www.HAFsite.org May 19, 2008 “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Article 1) “Religious persecution may shield itself under the guise of a mistaken and over-zealous piety” (Edmund Burke, February 17, 1788) Endorsements of the Hindu American Foundation's 3rd Annual Report “Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2006” I would like to commend the Hindu American Foundation for publishing this critical report, which demonstrates how much work must be done in combating human rights violations against Hindus worldwide. By bringing these abuses into the light of day, the Hindu American Foundation is leading the fight for international policies that promote tolerance and understanding of Hindu beliefs and bring an end to religious persecution. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Freedom of religion and expression are two of the most fundamental human rights. As the founder and former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India, I commend the important work that the Hindu American Foundation does to help end the campaign of violence against Hindus in South Asia. The 2006 human rights report of the Hindu American Foundation is a valuable resource that helps to raise global awareness of these abuses while also identifying the key areas that need our attention. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) Several years ago in testimony to Congress regarding Religious Freedom in Saudi Arabia, I called for adding Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists to oppressed religious groups who are banned from practicing their religious and cultural rights in Saudi Arabia.
    [Show full text]
  • (DFAT) Country Information Report on Sri Lanka of 4 November 2019
    July 2020 Comments on the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Country Information Report on Sri Lanka of 4 November 2019 Contents About ARC ................................................................................................................................... 2 Introductory remarks on ARC’s COI methodology ......................................................................... 3 General methodological observations on the DFAT Country report on Sri Lanka ............................ 5 Section-specific observations on the DFAT Country report on Sri Lanka ....................................... 13 Economic Overview, Economic conditions in the north and east ........................................................ 13 Security situation, Security situation in the north and east ................................................................. 14 Race/Nationality; Tamils ....................................................................................................................... 16 Tamils .................................................................................................................................................... 20 Tamils: Monitoring, harassment, arrest and detention ........................................................................ 23 Political Opinion (Actual or Imputed): Political representation of minorities, including ethnic and religious minorities ..............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Waves of Modern Terrorism: Examining the Past and Predicting the Future
    WAVES OF MODERN TERRORISM: EXAMINING THE PAST AND PREDICTING THE FUTURE A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Erin Walls, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April 5, 2017 WAVES OF MODERN TERRORISM: EXAMINING THE PAST AND PREDICTING THE FUTURE Erin Walls, B.A. Mentor: Joseph Smaldone, Ph.D. ABSTRACT David C. Rapoport’s “The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism,” is one of the most influential and widely debated theories in the field of terrorism studies. Following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, Rapoport created his theoretical framework for modern terrorism by grouping previously indistinguishable patterns of political violence into four distinct waves, each lasting a generation and inspired by ideologies derived from anarchism, anti-colonialism, socialism, and religious fundamentalism. Since 1979 the world has existed within the fourth “Religious” wave that will dissipate by 2025 if the generational life cycle remains constant. Rapoport’s model will serve as the foundational source for this thesis. It will discuss the importance of the wave model and how it can be useful in counterterrorism efforts. Rapoport argues that academics and governments unduly focus on specific organizations and contemporary events, which make us less sensitive to generational patterns. Individual terrorist organizations will have specific defining features but understanding overarching global and generational patterns in real time can help shape thinking on the most effective ways to combat terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • Nina Caspersen* from Kosovo to Karabakh: International Responses
    SÜDOSTEUROPA, 56 (2008) 1, S. 58–83 Nina Caspersen* From Kosovo to Karabakh: International Responses to De Facto States Abstract: Both in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, the dominant international re- sponse to de facto states, or quasi-states, has been one of isolation; they violate the principle of territorial integrity, they are often based on warfare, and the legitimacy of their frequently ethnically-based claims to independence is rejected. This article finds that pragmatism has occasionally led to some form of reluctant engagement, but this has been ad hoc and its depoliticised nature has been stressed. De facto states have been viewed solely through the lens of ethnicity and there has been insufficient under- standing of internal dynamics. International policies for Kosovo have long impacted on the strategies adopted by other de facto states and recent developments have reig- nited hopes for recognition. The US and the EU have rejected any talk of a legal prece- dent, but Kosovoʹs recognition does have important political consequences; it intro- duces a new dynamism into currently stalled peace processes. This could lead to a hardening of positions, but it could also positively impact on the internal dynamics of the de facto states. The recent recognition of Kosovoʹs independence has been followed with great interest in other de facto states whose leaderships hope that this case will set a precedent and hence increase their chance of international recognition.1 This in- terpretation has been echoed by Russia in its fierce criticism of the decision by states such as the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany to accept Kosovoʹs unilateral declaration of independence.
    [Show full text]
  • An Evolving Trend in Religious Practices Amongst Malaysian Hindus: a Case Study of Shrines Within the Residence Compound of Hindus, a New Phenomenon?'
    An Evolving Trend In Religious Practices Amongst Malaysian Hindus: A Case Study of Shrines Within The Residence Compound of Hindus, A New Phenomenon?' Dr Manimaran Subramaniam'' Abstract Hindus possess their own unique religious beliefs and practices and they have been inherited from one generation to another for centuries. Yet the religious beliefs and practices of Hindus living in India differes from that of Hindus living elsewhere or outside India. The best exemplification of the differences is the religious practice of Malaysian Hindus as they have introduced a new trend in the Hindu religious practice by building shrines for deities within their residence compound. Itis a new phenomenon amongst the Malaysian Hindu community and also it is envisaged as a problem in the nation as most shrines built illegally without the consent of the local authorities. This article aims at looking at the new phenomenon prevalent amongst present day Malaysian Hindus and how the phenomenon emerged in the society. Keywords: Hindus, Malaysian Hindus, shrines, religious practices, beliefs, local authorities, Hinduism. Introduction We can largely envisage the religious practice of Malaysian Indians through their worship or house worship, festivals and temple festivals (Arasaratnam 5., 1970). These types of worship are passed down from one generation to another and duly and thoroughly practised until now in their houses as well as temples. The Hindu Sangam renders countless contributions to these kinds of religious practices of Malaysian Indians or Malaysian Hindus particularly. Amongst the religious practices of Malaysian Indians, the domestic prayers performed by Malaysian Indians have undergone numerous changes with time and amongst the religious practices undergoing changes is building shrines within the residence compound.
    [Show full text]