Zawaya

Cooperation is the solution for the states of the region against terrorism

By: Iqbal Al Gharbi

Since the 1950s, international tourism followed a steady growth: 700 million people have traveled in the world in 2000, compared to 25 million in 1950. Globally, tourism is one of the top activities: It provides a third of service exports and employs 200 million people worldwide. Before the attacks of September 11, 2001, the tourism industry was poised to become the top global economic activity.

Since that crisis, terrorism has plunged the world of travel in an unprecedented crisis. Security has become the major concern of all tourism stakeholders.

This shows that terrorism is also a form of “economic war”, led by local and transnational entities aiming at destabilizing and disrupting economic and financial stability of a State, a group of States, or a people for religious or ideological reasons. This economic terrorism can have immediate effects, or inflict psychological effects that could have economic consequences in the long run.

By increasing the number of kidnappings of Westerners on the borders of the Sahel, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb shows that it has adhered to this logic of economic terrorism.

The former Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (SGPC, Algeria), which claimed the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in southern Tunisia in March 2008, the hostage taking of four European tourists kidnapped on the borders of Mali and Niger in January 2009, plus the abduction of Canadian diplomats in December 2008, is inspired by the hype, by the ransom, but also by a genuine desire to harm regional tourism.

In fact, tourism provides a high percentage of African countries’ revenues, and the tourism sector is an essential part of their GNP. It contributes to international investments, which often develop and finance heavy infrastructures. As a result, many view tourism as an easy revenue and an almost miraculous one for African economies. The position of tourism in the region’s economy is not limited to the relative weight of hotels and restaurants in the GDP, but spreads throughout the economy. The sectors to which the demand of tourists is directed are often characterized by high value added rates.

For the Tunisian economy, for example, tourism accounts for 6.5% of the GNP, 100,000 direct jobs, and at least 300,000 indirect jobs. Khelil Lajemi, Tunisian Minister of Tourism, says that if we count crafts, food, furniture, and transport, tourism supports a million people out of a population of ten million.

The action of the AQMI in the region, besides the feeling of insecurity that it perpetuates in some countries, and the bad publicity that it makes them endure, leads to a loss of tourism. In addition, the heavy support for the fight against this phenomenon seriously weakens economies of states.

This phenomenon, originally presented since the elections of 1992 as an “Algerian-Algerian” issue, through the action of the SGPC, has quickly taken transnational propensities. It is also worth mentioning that several regional homes of tension, like the conflict in Western Sahara, the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali and Niger, are identified as circumstances that are not likely conducive to a common attitude in the fight against armed groups in the region. These zones are an ideal area for Al-Qaida, from which its agents may take action against North Africa and Europe.

Attacks commonly perpetrated in Algeria and Mauritania, as well as the series of kidnappings of tourists and diplomats, provide revenue and exceptional publicity for an organization in search of young recruits easy to influence.

What strategy to adopt then when faced with a genuine desire for political, economic and social destabilization?

To stop terrorism, cooperation among states in the region is primordial. This cooperation will aim at creating a zone of peace, stability and prosperity through a multidimensional policy, which should combine several factors: the quest for security, the strengthening of co-development, a better management of diversity, and improvement of mutual understanding between peoples, cultures and religions.