AUGUST 2004 IPCS Research Papers SSuuiicciiddee TTeerrrroorriissmm iinn SSrrii LLaannkkaa R Ramasubramanian Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies New Delhi, INDIA © 2004, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies is not responsible for the facts, views or opinion expressed by the author. The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), established in August 1996, is an independent think tank devoted to research on peace and security from a South Asian perspective. Its aim is to develop a comprehensive and alternative framework for peace and security in the region catering to the changing demands of national, regional and global security. Address: B 7/3 Lower Ground Floor Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110029 INDIA Tel: 91-11-5100 1900, 5165 2556, 5165 2557, 5165 2558, 5165 2559 Fax: (91-11) 5165 2560 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ipcs.org ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My sincere thanks and deep sense of gratitude to Prof. P.R. Chari, for his valuable comments and Dr.Suba Chandran for his guidance and support rendered throughout the program. I thank all my colleagues and the staff at IPCS for their kind encouragement. I am obliged to my senior friends, Ms. Rajeshwari, IPCS and Mr. Hari Shankar, SARDI for their help in myriad ways. I owe a debt of gratitude to my Mother Smt.R. Meenakshi Ammal, my family members and the Almighty for their blessing at every stage of my career. R Ramasubramanian Suicide Terrorism in Sri Lanka It would elicit little debate that since the non- abandon West Bank and Gaza, and by Al violence protest movements of Mahatma Gandhi, Qaeda to pressurize the United States to Martin Luther King J., and Nelson Mandela, the withdraw from the Saudi Arabian acts of suicide bombings, more than any other single Peninsula.4 Before the early 1980s, suicide form of political protest, have left their greatest terrorism was rare but not unknown. imprint on global politics during the past two However, since the attack on the U.S. decades.1 embassy in Beirut in April 1983, there have been at least 300 separate suicide terrorist Reports of suicide bombings have filled the attacks worldwide, in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, news recently. The continuing spate of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, attacks in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Sri Yemen, Turkey, Russia and the United Lanka has made suicide terrorism seem like States,5 the most recent being the a flourishing sunrise industry. This Uzbekistan suicide bombing in July 31 2004. augments the fact that suicide bombings Thus the numbers have increased from 31 have been a favorite and effective mode for in the 1980s to 104 in the 1990s to 153 in terrorists to successfully penetrate a target 2000– August 2004, increasing both in and create injuries and chaos. Suicide tempo and location. bombings have emerged as ‘deadly weapons’ in the arsenal of terrorism.2 Terrorist This study is not about suicide terrorism per organizations are increasingly relying on se, but is concerned with the perpetrators of suicide attacks to achieve major political this kind of terrorism. An attempt has been objectives.3 For example, spectacular suicide made to synthesize their psychological and terrorist attacks have recently been sociological motives and provide a general employed by Iraqi hardliner groups in assessment of suicide terrorism in Sri Lanka. attempts to force US and allied forces to It is hoped that an examination of the abandon the mainland Iraq, by the extensive body of behaviorist literature on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to compel political, nationalistic and religious terrorism the Sri Lankan government to accept an will provide some answers to questions such independent Tamil homeland, by Palestinian as: Who are suicide terrorists? How do groups in attempts to force Israel to individuals become suicide bombers? How are they recruited? Is there a terrorist mindset or are terrorist groups too diverse 1 Kusum Mundra, “Suicide bombing as a to have a single mindset or common strategic instrument of protest: an empirical psychological traits? Are there instead investigation”, Seminar Paper presented in Department of Economics in San Diego different terrorist mindsets? Is politics more University during Fall 2003. http://www.economics.ucr.edu/seminars/10- 4 Robert Pape, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide 01-03 Kusum Mundra Intro.pdf Terrorism” , American Political Science Review 2 Scott Atran, “Genesis of Suicide Terrorism”, Vol. 97, No. 3, August 2003, p.1. Science, March 7, 2003, p. 21. 5 Yoram Schweitzer, “Suicide Terrorism: http://search.epnet. Development and main characteristics,” in com/direct.asp?an=9355002&db=aph Countering Suicide Terrorism: An International 3 Josie Glausiusz, “The Surprises of Suicide Conference (Herzliya, Israel: The International Terrorism”, Discover, October 2003, p. 17. Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, 2001), http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=108411 pp. 75-76. 71&db=aph - 1 - important than a human life? Is suicide targeted nation was dramatically terrorism ever successful? Can suicide demonstrated with the suicide bombing of terrorism be justified? Why is suicide the WTC, or the 9/11 attack. terrorism an attractive choice for terror groups? What can be some positive goals of According to Robert Pape, ‘the total terrorist activity? What strategies can be number of terrorist incidents of all kinds used to stem the tide of suicide attacks? had been falling - from a peak of 666 in 1987 to a low of 274 in 1998. But, in To gain a better understanding, the study is contrast, suicide attacks are proliferating’9. categorized into four parts. The first part There were 98 suicide attacks in the past overviews the emerging suicide terrorist – four years, as compared to 212 attacks threat scenario and purpose behind such during 1983 – 200010. This sharp increase attacks. The second part deals with suicide can be attributed to the change in terrorist terrorism in Sri Lanka, focusing on attacks mindset in engaging their opponents; carried out by the LTTE. The third part however, the employment of suicide attacks focuses on the Black Tigers, their as a terrorist technique is not a new motivations and the role of women. The phenomenon. ‘With the invention of fourth part analyses the psychological and dynamite in the late 19th century, the use of nationalistic framework of suicide terrorism. bombs in terrorist attacks became a generally favored method, and this applies I to suicide attacks also’11. But with the Emerging Suicide development of better explosives and means Terrorist-Threat Scenarios of detonating them, suicide attacks became less common. Later, ‘due to the increase in Terrorist organisations are increasingly relying on counter terrorism measures, the terrorist suicide attacks to achieve major political organisations began to reintroduce suicide objectives…The rise of suicide terrorism is especially attacks’.12 remarkable.– Robert A. Pape. 6 The terrorist organisations arrange suicide The emerging trend in terrorism over the attacks to coerce the state into conceding its past three decades has contradicted the demands and to punish members of the conventional thinking that terrorists are targeted state for any harm done to their averse to using deadly weapons or WMDs.7 community or religion. Thus they use When the conventional terrorist groups of suicide attacks not only ‘as a weapon of the early 1970s are compared with terrorists protest, but also as a weapon of intimidation in the early 1990s, a trend can be seen i.e., a and weapon of reprisal’13. Subsequently, transition towards nationalistic feeling and terrorist organisations venerate these religious fervor.8 The increased threat level, individual acts of suicide terrorism to create in the form of terrorist actions aimed at achieving a larger scale of destruction through the choice of their targets, which 9 are often symbolic or representative in the Robert Pape, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism”, p.1. 10 Michael Kurton, “Why Human Bombs?”, 6 Robert Pape, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Journal of Defence Strategy, Vol. 42, No. 4 , July Terrorism”, American Political Science Review, 2001, p. 56. Vol. 97, No. 3, August 2003, p.1. 11 Audrey Kurth Cronin, “Terrorists and Suicide 7 Rohan Gunaratna, “Suicide Terrorism: A Attacks”, CRS Report for Congress, August 28, Global Threat”, Jane’s Intelligence Review, 20 2003. p. 4. October 2000; accessed at 12 ibid., [http://www.janes.com] on 22 June 2004. 13 B. Raman, “Suicide and Suicidal Terrorism”, 8 Ehud Sprinzak, “Rational Fanatics”, Foreign Paper 947, South Asia Analysis Group. Policy, September/October 2000, pp. 66-73. http://www.saag.org/papers10/paper947.html - 2 - a desire among the fellow members to But in the case of suicide terrorism, follow suit. a terrorist kills others by killing himself. Here the terrorist knows fully well that the DELINEATING SUICIDE TERRORISM attack will not be executed if he is not killed in the process. (Refer Table I) Suicide terrorism must be differentiated from other form of terrorisms. Pape has Suicide terrorism can be broadly defined as defined the different forms of terrorism as “the readiness to sacrifice one’s life in the demonstrative, destructive, and suicide process of destroying or attempting to 14 terrorism . However this differentiation is destroy a target to advance a political goal. not clear cut. Suicide terrorism cannot be The aim of the psychologically and compared with demonstrative and physically war-trained terrorist is to die destructive terrorism. It can be argued that while destroying the enemy target”.16 the suicide terrorism is merely an instrument Schweitzer defines suicide terrorism as a or modus operandi, compared to politically motivated violent attack perpetrated by a demonstrative or destructive terrorism self-aware individual (or individuals) who actively which are mostly objectives. Suicide and purposely causes his own death through blowing terrorism as an instrument, seeks both himself up along with his chosen target.