SA 'not free of al-Qaeda'
2004-10-19 16:34
Cape Town - Although "elements" of al-Qaeda have been detected in South Africa, the organisation has established no networks here, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a Cape Town Press Club luncheon, he described al-Qaeda as "a huge international threat".
"They are unpredictable, and no-one can guarantee that an event or action can't happen here," he cautioned.
South Africa was not free of al-Qaeda; no country was.
However, there was no evidence the country was being "overrun by these people", and claims that al-Qaeda now stretched from Pakistan to South Africa gave an absolutely wrong impression.
The tremendous international clampdown on terror organisations had seen al-Qaeda go to ground and spread.
'Witch-hunt'
"Yes, there have been elements here, but there is no network to speak of."
Kasrils warned against any "witch-hunt" for al-Qaeda operatives being mounted against the local Muslim community, and said South Africans should guard against paranoia.
"Al-Qaeda abuses Islam, it abuses the Muslim religion for clear-cut political objectives," he said.
The Muslim community in South Africa was "very stable", and many of its members had been involved in the struggle for democracy and helping to make the country a better place.
'Terror' arrests in Pakistan
On the two South Africans arrested in Pakistan in July this year, in the company of a known al-Qaeda operative, Kasrils said only: "The trial of the two, hopefully there's a trial, the fate of the two will have to be judged on the basis of their innocence until proved guilty."
Johannesburg doctor Feroz Ganchi and Pretoria student Zubair Ismail were arrested with 12 other terror suspects in Gujrat on July 25 when Pakistani authorities conducted raids to capture suspected al-Qaeda agents.
Internationally, Kasrils said, the key challenge lay in addressing the fundamental causes of the anger and frustration that fuelled terrorism.
These were poverty, underdevelopment and deprivation.
- SAPA