I think that we don’t have the benefit of an accurate measure of terrorism to stop its threats. The existing gap in the laws grants terrorists the opportunity of propagating their violent policies just in the heart of the modern and democratic world. It well indicates that the world lacks the needed seriousness to combat terrorism. If we are really serious about fighting terrorism, we also have to start getting serious about accurately measuring its threats and take precautionary measures rather than awarding them with more than adequate accommodations to gather together or roam in the lobbies of the Western countries parliaments as Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) is doing.
I wonder that while it is a blacklisted terrorist group on many countries lists, including the US and the EU, and its terrorist as well as cult charges are still open and investigated in France, it has the freedom of organizing a claimed gathering of 70,000 in northern Paris to demand removal of terrorist tag. Isn’t it legally prohibited to engage in any form of activity in the countries where it is blacklisted?
There is a much more surprising case concerning MEK I draw your attention to. Once in October 2006 the present UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, then the Chancellor, gave a speech to the Chatham House think-tank on "Meeting the Terrorist Challenge". The first words went as: “There should be no safe haven anywhere in the world for terrorists. Equally there should be no hiding place anywhere for those who finance terrorism”.
Nice words said and many felt relieved because hopes were fostered that at last the terrorism was beginning to face a real challenge. The next expressed ideas were even more promising. Here is a part:
And today I want to announce the framework of a new regime we are developing nationally and internationally for rooting out terrorist finance. In the last century, the main province of foreign policy was that nations had to guard against threats from other nations. And these threats still remain – demonstrated clearly yesterday by North Korea’s irresponsible action, which our Government and the whole world condemn completely.
But now also we see how small groups of terrorists can cause carnage:
enemies who do not need great armies nor, in practise, large amounts of money, weapons, or technology to put lives at risk; enemies without even a recognised formal chain of command, but enemies who can inspire imitators in the heart of our communities.
And so in addressing these new threats for whom there is no real precedent we are forced to consider every means, every necessary resource – all methods of diplomacy, all means of intelligence, all tools of law, policing and our security and military forces – in order to discharge our first duty: to protect our citizens.
Alas! His ideas and the new measure showed wide differences with that spectrum soon after he was elected the Prime Minister. Now we see he has taken the first step to make England a safe haven for MEK by bringing it out from the terror list. The move is encouraging other proscribed groups, and Al-Qaeda of course, to start defending their rights! I in my turn congratulate Prime Minister for his initiative measure and seriousness to discharge his first duty, as he has said, to protect British citizens.