Has Canada enemy within?
The country could face a terror attack sooner or later. One reason is - it still has liberal asylum laws, writes Gurmukh Singh.
When 9/11 happened in America, it had deep ramifications for neighbouring Canada. The country woke up to the fact terror threat had reached its doorstep and tightened anti-terror measures by introducing Bill C-36. The bill gave its security forces sweeping powers to curtail civil liberties and detain and investigate anyone suspected to be a threat to national security.
The law was opposed by visible minorities and their representatives who feared that they could be unduly targeted because of their colour. In fact, the then minister for natural resources, Herb Dhaliwal, an Indo-Canadian, was one of the vocal critics of the bill.
Under pressure, the government incorporated a clause in the law, making its review mandatory after some time. On the other hand, there were not many murmurs of protest among the mainstream white community. Then the US and its allies attacked Iraq in March 2003 to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Canada refused to be part of the international coalition. And a majority of Canadians went along with their government's decision. Non-participation in the Iraq attack made many Canadians feel that they have less to fear from Al-Qaeda and its allies.
And now happens 7/7 in London followed by another abortive attempt on the city tube network two weeks later.
What are its ramifications for this country, which is on the hit list of Al-Qaeda.
Quoting an online Arabic manual, Al-Battar Military Camp, allied to Al-Qaeda, the US authorities had warned in April 2004 that the terrorist network supported attack on Canada. In its threat, the manual said Canada is the fifth most important "Christian terrorist" target, after Americans, Britons, Spaniards and Australians. Canada was also mentioned twice as a target by Bin Laden himself. Now that the US, Australia, Spain and Britain have already been hit, will it be Canada next? Apart from Australia, all the three have hit on their on soil by the so-called home-grown terrorists. Australia was targeted second-hand when terrorists killed more than 160 Australians in the Indonesian resort of Bali.
In response to the 7/7 attacks in London, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Anne MacLellan who is also minister for public safety, assured people that her government had tightened anti-terror measures and earmarked more than $10 billion on safety and intelligence.
Can all this secure this vast country? As many security and intelligence people in this country admit, Canada could face a terror attack sooner or later. One reason is that this country has still liberal asylum laws. Any fugitive can enter this country, falsely present himself as a victim (in his country of origin) and apply for asylum. There is no lack of such cases which are pending before the authorities in Ottawa. Many fugitives are roaming free in cities like Toronto and Montreal.
And they are indulging in all kinds of nefarious activities. Rackets in credit cards and false passports have been unearthed in these cities in recent months. Using these false documents, these rackets are indulging in illegal human trafficking. The operatives of many banned terrorist organisations operate secretly in this country. They allegedly collect funds for their operations and send the money abroad for organizing training for terrorists. The activities of LTTE sympathisers are one such case.
The most obvious example of the ease with which terrorists have used Canada to further their ends is the case of Ahmed Ressam who was arrested on the eve of the new millennium while on his way to blow up Los Angeles Airport. He was arrested by chance while he was on a ferry from British Columbia with a trunk full of bomb-making material. Ressam, who was convicted for 22 years by a court in Seattle this week, admitted to being part of the Al-Qaeda network. An Algerian, he had come to Canada and sought asylum by falsifying his identity. Information secured from him helped identify two co-conspirators -- one in Britain and one in Canada.
Apart from this, the lax security at the country's airports was criticised by one wing of the government this year. It was pointed that the equipment to detect potential threat was not up to the mark (Remember how faulty machines at Toronto airport had let the bombs get on board two Air India flights 20 years ago, leading to the worst aviation disaster in history when the Kanishka flight 182 with 329 on board was blown off). Amusingly enough, dozens of security uniform worn by the airport staff were found being auctioned on eBay a few months ago.
Other factors that make Canada vulnerable are its huge shoreline - the longest in the world running for more than 200,000 miles and a long 6,000-mile open border with the US. It can be easily used by terrorists- like Ahmed Ressam - heading for the US.
Like Britain, Canada has allowed militants of various hues to use its turf for their wars against native governments. Perhaps it is time to reflect on the past.