The terrorist disconnection
Dobson Payne
gasser Arafat, the perpetual leader of 1 the Palestine Liberation Organisation, has amazed both his friends and enemies by a sudden decision to stop free guerrilla in- struction for Europeans and other foreigners in his war camps. For years the PLO has been the patron of these murderous groups. In January, 17 members of foreign legions of terror under training at the Boudj al Barajineh camp in Lebanon were told to leave. The course ended abruptly and they were packed off from Beirut airport to an uncertain future in Aden, South Yemen. Among the squads learning basic guerrilla skills were four Italians from the Red Brigades, two West Germans of the Red Army Faction, a Turk and ten Latin Americans. This section of the world of terror had been on a four-week course, cut short after only seven days.
The encouraging aspect of all this is that Arafat had made his decision for reasons of high policy. He felt that his diplomatic cam- paign to get support from Common Market Europe for the establishment of a Palestine state was being damaged by the terrorist link. He knew that his case was being harm- ed by reports about the PLO connection with international terror. So anxious is Arafat to get European support that for once he is willing to wave an olive branch rather than a revolver. If he continues to distance the PLO from the terrorists in the West there is no doubt that Europeans will have more sympathy for Palestinians. That said, however, it seems unlikely that he will reject terror altogether for it was this form of war which first put the PLO on the geo- political map.
Palestinian money and weapons and training facilities have long provided the wherewithal for urban guerrillas in Europe. Without such help, and that provided by Colonel Gaddafi of Libya, it is doubtful whether the various terrorist groups would have been able to raise such hell in the West.
Arafat has the Americans in mind as well as the Europeans. Recent attacks by Arab gunmen on US diplomats in Paris — the charge d'affaires escaped unharmed but a military attache was shot dead — did nothing to encourage President Reagan to support the PLO, even though it may not have been responsible.
At least one attempt to kill Arafat has been made by rivals for Palestinian power. His position as undisputed leader is fre- quently challenged and nothing sharpens the mind more than fear of death. This was no doubt why he decided that there were too many people in his organisation casual- ly making liaison arrangements for foreign terrorists, and that the whole business was getting out of hand.
This has led to the appointment of Sa'ad Sayil, the head of Fatah operations usually known by his war name Abu Walid, to take control of all PLO contacts with interna- tional terrorist organisations. He will have his own men in each of the 100 PLO 'em- bassies' in foreign countries. And one of his tasks will be to stop leakages of information about clandestine links with European ter- rorists which damage the PLO image.
These signs of a more organised, perhaps even a more peaceable approach come at a time when international terrorists are on the defensive because of more efficient anti- terrorist organisation in Europe. In all the most terror-prone countries the death rate and number of attacks decreased last year even in Turkey. In Italy the Red Brigades have suffered defeats, most recently when Brigadier-General Dozier, the kidnapped American officer, was freed. More than 1,800 Italian terrorists have been caught. In the last two months 239 have been arrested. At last Red Brigades members have begun to give information about their ex" comrades to the police. In Northern Ireland, too, informers have been helping both the Garda in the Republic of Ireland and the RUC in the north. As a result large stocks of arms and ammunition have been recovered and ar- rests have been made. Proof that such ac- tivities are damaging the IRA and reducing its operational scope is provided by the re- cent Provo offer of an amnesty to in- formers, who in the past were traditionally punished with an IRA bullet in the head. There is little sign that any informer has chosen to risk accepting this offer. Reorganised police forces in Spain are making progress in their long campaign against the Basque separatists of ETA and Gram the Marxist-Leninist terror group, has been almost completely dismantled. Last year 800 left-wing terrorists and 100 right-wingers were arrested. In Germany
there is little sign of a terrorist revival of the kind which was experienced only a few years ago. Fewer recruits are coming for- ward and some of the veteran practitioners are getting a little old for action.
The lesson has been learned in Europe that violence must be met with force. After the first terrorist successes governments Pulled themselves together and improved police organisation and arrangements for sharing intelligence. Each country now has its own task force: the SAS in Britain, GSG 9 in West Germany, Marines in Holland, Gendarmes in France, and now special forces in Italy and Spain. All have won bat- 'tie honours against terrorists.
Yasser Arafat's decision to stop training other people's terrorists for a while may be a small step but it is a further encourage- ment to Europeans who have already put their enemies on the defensive. Any sign of conversion to the belief that diplomacy and lobbying are better than bombing and machine-gunning is welcome.
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