CASE STUDIES IN TERRORISM-DRUG CONNECTION: THE KURDISTAN WORK ERS’ PARTY, THE LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM, AND THE SHINING PATH Fuat Salih Sahin Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2001 APPROVED: Bradley Chilton, Major Professor Robert W. Taylor, Committee Member Tory Caeti, Committee Member David Hartman, Dean of the School of Community Services C. Neal Tate, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Sahin, Fuat Salih, Case studies in terrorism-drug connection: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and the Shining Path. Master of Science (Criminal Justice), August 2001, 111 pp., 7 tables, titles. This study scrutinizes the drug-terrorism nexus critically with intent to conceive possible remedies for the problem. The vast turnover of the global illicit drug industry constitutes the largest portion of organized crime enterprises’ income. Different circles have argued that these enterprises are not the sole actors of the drug business, but terrorist groups, whose ultimate aim is a political change rather than financial strength, also profit from the “business.” The controversial nature of the problem fuelled heated debates and requires an in depth and impartial analysis, which was the main subject of the current study. At the first stage, three different cases, the PKK, the LTTE, and the SL, were studied either to prove or deny the alleged phenomenon. The sampled groups’ ideology, structure, and operations helped understand the motives pushing the organizations into the ‘business.’ Subsequently, several recommendations capturing vital issues both in countering terrorism and breaking terrorism-drugs link were spelled out. Copyright 2001 by Fuat Salih Sahin ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Methodology.............................................................................................. 6 2. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS ............................................................ 10 Terrorism: definitions and concepts............................................................ 10 Drug-crime equilibrium.............................................................................. 14 Terrorism-drug nexus................................................................................. 16 Terrorist networks’ tending towards illicit drug trade ................................. 19 Main sources of income for terrorist organizations ..................................... 23 3. THE KURDISTAN WORKERS’ PARTY (THE PKK).............................. 28 History, ideology, and operations ............................................................... 29 Financing ................................................................................................... 36 Underlying Reasons for the PKK’s Dealing with Illegal Drugs................... 39 The PKK and illegal drugs ......................................................................... 43 4. THE LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM (THE LTTE).............. 52 History....................................................................................................... 52 Ideology..................................................................................................... 55 Structure and operations............................................................................. 57 Financing ................................................................................................... 62 The LTTE and illegal drugs........................................................................ 63 5. THE SHINING PATH (THE SL)............................................................... 69 History....................................................................................................... 69 Ideology..................................................................................................... 72 Structure and operations............................................................................. 73 Financing ................................................................................................... 76 The SL and illegal drugs ............................................................................ 77 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 82 Some of the pecularities of the studied groups............................................ 87 Some thoughts towards a solution .............................................................. 95 REFERENCE LIST..................................................................................................... 102 iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Merari’s classification of political violence. ................................................................ 12 2. Price structure of the drug market .......................................................................... 41 3. PKK associations in Germany................................................................................ 48 4. Number of Turkish drug offenders in foreign countries.......................................... 49 5. Ethmick distribution in certain government positions in Sri Lanka......................... 53 6. Economic growth rates in Sri Lanka. ..................................................................... 58 7. Deaths due to political violence in Peru. ................................................................ 80 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the twentieth century, drug use (or abuse) such as opium smoking in China, Burma, Persia, opium eating in India and other Asian countries, cannabis consumption in India (charas, ganja, bhang), Egypt (hashish) and Morocco (kif) and coca chewing among indigenous tribes in South America were regarded as "local" phenomena. At that time, only the licit and illicit export of opium (from Asian countries), morphine, heroin and cocaine (from European countries) to China and the smuggling of hashish into Egypt (out of other eastern Mediterranean countries), were considered to be international aspects of the drug problem (United, 1999). Today, illegal drug use, or experimentation with drugs, has become closely woven into the experiential and cultural fabric of ‘ordinary’ everyday life especially in western society. Worldwide, the UN estimates that there are 200 million regular and casual drug users in all regions of the world, more than than 50 million of which are considered to be regular users of heroin, cocaine, and synthetic drugs (United, 1999a). Global anticipated number of the injected drug abusers is around 5.3 million (United, 1995). The United States is the largest single consumer of illicit drugs in the world, with some 12.8 million current drug abusers out of a total population of 260 million (United, 1998). Millions more are involved in production, trafficking, and sale of illegal drugs. The trade in illegal drugs is a multi-billion dollar global business. The turnover of the illicit drug industry could lead us to understand the magnitude 1 of the extent of the drug problem. Due to the clandestine nature of the industry, its complexity, and range of operations, estimates of the turnover of the illicit drug industry vary considerably, from about US $ 100 billion to more than US $ 1 trillion a year. The most frequently found figures in the literature range from $ 300 billion to $ 500 billion a year and seem to be the most reasonable estimates. Such a turnover of the illicit drug industry would be equivalent to approximately eight per cent of total international trade in iron and steel and motor vehicles, and approximately the same size as the trade in textiles, oil and gas, and world tourism (United, 1995). World trade and investment have expanded and brought substantial economic benefits to some areas of the developed and developing world. Capital, goods, and people move much more frequently and freely across national borders than was the case previously. In many industries, multinational enterprises operate on a world scale by allocating production according to the comparative advantage of individual countries or regions. They achieved this colossal state by selling to diverse geographical markets and by undertaking financial operations where it is most advantageous. This macroeconomic environment, which facilitated the growth and development of global legitimate business, has also provided the opportunity for drug producers and traffickers. These groups organize themselves on a global scale, to produce in developing countries, and to distribute and sell in all parts of the world, to move drug cartel members easily from country to country and to place and invest their profits in financial centers offering secrecy and attractive investment returns (United, 1995). The illegal drug trade has become a global organized industry with no particular national identity and barrier. The trafficking organizations run like multinational enterprises run by organized criminal 2 groups in all continents of the globe (United, 1999a). The huge profit of the illegal drug industry not only attracts the organized criminal groups but also terrorist groups that are struggling for political change and in need of financial sources. In fact, illegal drug trade is just a section of organized crime activity which Abadinsky (1994:6) defines as “a non-ideological enterprise involving a number of persons in close social interaction, organized on a hierarchical basis, with