Close to a year after the Sept 11 attacks on the US, the idea of what constitutes terrorism still remains unclear despite attempts by various states and political leaders to tie a neat definition to the label.

And the 57 years since the end of World War II has shown that the world is possibly more at risk of nuclear devastation than when atomic bombs were last dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The consensus from a public forum in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, entitled 'Terrorism in the Nuclear Age', was that increased military or nuclear capability does not deter terrorist attacks on innocent civilians.

In commemoration of Hiroshima Day yesterday, Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (PPNW), took the opportunity to invite speakers and the public to discuss the unresolved issues of nuclear disarmament, particularly in the post-Sept 11 context.

Chaired by former foreign minister Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, the public also heard from Universiti Sains Malaysia Vice-Chancellor Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, former politician and academic Dr Chandra Muzaffar, defence analyst and columnist Abdul Razak Baginda, and PPNW chairperson Dr RS McCoy.

Terrorism as we know it today has become part of a global phenomenon as seen by the US, merely because "their influence on the world is so pervasive", said Abdul Razak, who is also the executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, a politics and security think tank.

There is nothing new about violence and terror being inflicted on innocents, yet the idea of terrorism has taken centre stage, and will continue to do so, because of the US experience, he added.

Justification for US

On top of it all, pointed McCoy, the Sept 11 attacks have given the United States the justification to act militarily in other parts of the world.

In addressing US' nuclear posture, he said that their counter-terrorist solutions are based on the premise that terror can be fought with a large military budget, and this "risks placing the world on a permanent war footing".

The crisis stemming from the World Trade Center attacks goes to show that the US military dominance and nuclear policy have failed as an act of deterrence, said the physician who is also president of the international umbrella body of the PPNW.

"Both counter-terrorism and nuclear disarmament are two sides of the same coin" and yet, this is not reflected in US president George W Bush's defence policy, said McCoy.

He referred to the Nuclear Posture Review by the US government, a classified document leaked to the media in March 2002, that "reasserted the centrality of nuclear weapons in US defence policy."

"Capitalising on the threat posed by terrorism, the Bush administration has sought to convince people that arms control weakens America's ability to protect itself," he said.

The real terrorists

All this flies in the face of US commitments made under the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

This US trend in disregarding existing treaty obligations has "dangerous implications" as those who witness powerful states flouting their obligations will see it as justification to do the same, McCoy warned.

The speakers also emphasised that so long as military and economic inequities exist between countries and people, the question of who are the real terrorists will continue to be challenged — countries who carry out military actions on the premise of weeding out terror, or groups who argue that they are fighting against injustice.

It becomes impossible to distinguish non-state terrorism from state terrorism, said McCoy, when governments threaten to use nuclear weapons to indiscriminately incinerate millions of innocents.

According to USM's Dzulkifli, the stark contrast between rich and poor has served as an impetus for minority groups to strike out.

In the context of unequal living conditions and the advent of globalisation, who we label terrorist and who we label freedom fighter, is to be questioned, he said.

Religion manipulated

Political scientist Chandra, who spoke on religion and ethics in connection with terrorism and nuclear weapons, said that, often, the failure of the ruling elite, the abuse of power and mass oppression provides a convenient space for bigoted and extremist groups to become popular.

"Religion has often been manipulated by certain groups to justify acts of terror," he said, citing countries such as Israel, India, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Pakistan and the Phillippines where this has occurred.

Chandra, who is the president of public interest group the International Movement for a Just World, said that the elites must provide space for justice and for groups to advocate change, warning that oppression will only give rise to further violence.

In advocating some solutions, speakers expressed the need for coordinated cooperation among countries to place justice and security as primary goals, particularly in the face of US' military dominance.

The PPNW public forum is held every year on Aug 6 in commemoration with Hiroshima Day.