Continent Looks Beyond 'War On Terror'

The government of Mali declared in early June that it would mount a "merciless struggle" against terrorist forces operating in the country's far northern desert. President Amadou Toumani Touré vowed that the killers of a British hostage, murdered just a few days earlier, would not escape unpunished. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a predominantly Algerian dissident group that had claimed credit for the execution, reacted a few days later by assassinating a colonel in the Malian intelligence service Then within less than a week the Malian army launched its first major operations against AQIM bases near the northern border with Algeria, reportedly killing up to two dozen fighters. In subsequent clashes Mali lost some of its own troops.
By directly engaging with AQIM, the Malian authorities demonstrated their willingness to respond to armed challenges with force. Yet Mali's overall approach to conflict goes well beyond military reactions. Since the 1990s, Tuareg and other ethnic rebels have been active in Mali's arid Sahel region. By considering their political and economic grievances, the government has succeeded in persuading many fighters to lay down their weapons.
The establishment of a democratic system in 1992 has facilitated political dialogue, and provides citizens with ways to peacefully air their concerns. Mali has a vibrant civil society and free press as well as a record of respecting human rights. Although the government has few financial resources, it has devoted much attention to trying to improve conditions for its poorest citizens.
Across Africa, other countries face similar challenges as they try to address immediate security threats while simultaneously pursuing long-range priorities. But because the continent confronts so many pressing problems, tackling terrorism has so far not taken a high profile, despite the calls to wage "war on terror" that have been so prominent internationally since the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
As Kenyan journalist Mutuma Mathiu summarized the common African view: "For people who have to work reasonably hard to put bread on the table, have to fight AIDS and the escalating cost of living, terrorism appears to be a distant threat. The threat of having nothing for dinner is more immediate."
New approach

Recent moves by some major powers away from a narrowly militaristic response has now created space for a new approach, noted a group of experts on terrorism convened by the United Nations. A 3-4 June meeting of the experts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressed the importance of Africa's becoming more engaged in efforts to counter terrorist activities on the continent. But it also highlighted the need to "strengthen the African voice in the global discussion on terrorism," said Patrick Hayford, director of the UN's Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), which organized the event. The participants noted that the adoption in 2006 of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (see box) had marked a shift away from a "hard" military style in countering terrorism, towards a more nuanced approach that combines concerns over security with the pursuit of development and the promotion of human rights. Along those lines, the experts welcomed US President Barack Obama's moves to shed the rhetoric of the previous administration. That shift, they said, fosters a global climate that is more favourable to the UN's strategy. On 4 June - by coincidence the final day of the experts' meeting - Mr. Obama was in Cairo for his first major address to the Islamic world. Although he touched on the events of 11 September, he did not use the charged word "terrorism" - which has been interpreted by some as anti-Muslim - and repeatedly emphasized the importance of dialogue for building broad alliances to counter extremist groups. According to Congressman Donald Payne, who heads the House of Representatives' subcommittee on Africa, broader US policy towards the continent will also shift. "This whole thing can't be the US's war on terror, whatever that was," he said. Instead, the administration will "concentrate on things that would prevent terror, like higher education."..more..http://allafrica.com/stories/200911270814.html