Africa unites against terror
19 March 2004
The African Union (AU) agreed this week to establish a centre in the Algerian capital Algiers within the next six months to co-ordinate information on terrorism, The Star newspaper reports.
AU commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare was quoted by The Star as saying: "We have agreed to open a centre for terrorism within six months that will co-ordinate information and design a joint mechanism to fight terrorism on the continent.
"We are not doing this to please the Spanish or the Americans", Konare added: "We are doing it for our own sake."
Konare's reference to Spain relates to the train bombings that hit Madrid a week ago, killing over 200 people. The United States has spearheaded a campaign against terror since the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
Konare condemned the Madrid bombings a day after they happened: "Terrorism has no colour, has no face and no religion. It is our common enemy. We Africans are
determined to fight terrorism in all its forms. We have to intensify the fight more than ever," Konare said.
According to The Star, Konare said the centre in Algiers would be charged with gathering information from all AU member states, and would also serve as an early-warning mechanism to alert states on possible terrorist acts on the continent.
"We have experienced terror ourselves", Konare told The Star, adding that sustainable peace and security were among the AU's main goals. "Fighting terrorism is part and parcel of our vision," he said.
In August 1998, the US embassy in Nairobi was bombed, killing 213 people, mainly Kenyans, and 12 US citizens. On the same day, 11 people died when the US embassy in Tanzania was bombed.
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network claimed responsibility for both attacks.
In November 2002, a car bomb exploded in front of an Israeli-owned hotel near the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, killing 12 Kenyans, three Israelis and
three presumed bombers.
Konare called on AU member states not to recognise governments that came to power with the help of mercenaries, and to consider the acts of soldiers hired to topple an elected government as acts of terror.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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