The Straits Times August 28, 2003
Anarchists + terrorists
The Mexicans face huge challenge of controlling 150,000 protesters and finding any terrorists among them
By Roger Mitton
WASHINGTON - There are growing fears that the World Trade Organisation's biennial conference in Cancun, Mexico, may be disrupted by violent anarchists and possibly even be the target of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack.
On Sept 10, the fifth WTO ministerial meeting will open in Cancun, a noted tourist resort on Mexico's Caribbean coast.
The Mexican authorities are widely expected to be stretched to the limit to maintain order and thwart any possible terrorist attack.
Said Mr John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a well-known anti-terrorist think-tank based near Washington: 'They are going to have their hands full from a peaceful protest perspective and from an Al-Qaeda perspective.
'And at times, from not being able to tell the difference between the two.'
According to estimates, up to 150,000 activists will converge on the resort aiming to conduct aggressive, but ostensibly peaceful protests against the world trade body and its globalisation agenda.
The last time there was an organised protest movement on this scale was at the WTO's meeting in Seattle in 1999. At that event, the protests got out of hand and rioting ensued between activists and security forces. The clashes made headlines around the world.
Similar rampaging occurred at a subsequent G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy. One protester was killed and became a martyr for the anti-globalisation movement.
Such was the impact of the infamous Seattle event that the WTO located its next ministerial meeting in the small Middle East city of Doha, which activists could not easily visit.
That meeting, which occurred soon after the Sept 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, passed off peacefully. But Cancun is a lot easier to reach than Doha.
Said Mr Charles Pena, director of defence policy studies at the Cato Institute in Washington: 'There are people opposed to globalisation who are willing to resort to violence. And if there are terrorists who want to take advantage, they can. You cannot protect it in an absolute sense.'
The Mexican authorities, who some believe have been slow in appreciating this, have now suddenly instituted much more stringent entry requirements for Cancun.
Those who previously did not require a visa to visit Mexico now must obtain a special permit to enter the WTO conference zone in Cancun.
Whether the enforcement of a cordon sanitaire around the perimeter of the event site will prove adequate remains to be seen. Many are doubtful.
Said Mr Pike: 'When you think of some of these longer-range artillery rockets that various groups have, you wonder if they have any hope whatsoever of enforcing a big enough perimeter to prevent a longer-range stand-off attack.'
As well, the activists may provide a perfect front for the more lethal terrorists.
Already, the word has gone out to global activist groups. There are websites instructing them on how to travel to Mexico, how to converge in Cancun, and how to coordinate with each other.
The Organic Consumers Association, for example, offers a week of teach-ins and protests, where activists 'will be housed in comfortable accommodations in Cancun' for a cost of US$850 (S$1,500), airfare not included.
Other groups are using the Internet to solicit funds to enable large numbers of Mexican peasants to travel to Cancun and join the anti- globalisation protests. Thousands are soon expected to begin arriving from North and South America, Europe and Asia.
It is likely to prove a daunting prospect to distinguish the bona fide peaceful protesters from the terrorists.
The protesters will attend a wide range of workshops, forums and cultural events where the emphasis will be on presenting alternatives to corporate globalisation.
The WTO ministerial conference is the organisation's highest-level decision-making body. Trade and industry ministers from around the world attend, along with ambassadors and other senior government figures.
For that reason, and because it attracts worldwide media interest, many view it as a very tempting target for terrorists. Said Mr Pike: 'If you were trying to get some front money from Osama bin Laden and you wanted to go to him with a good plan, this would be one good option open to you.'
The timing of the meeting is also controversial, coming right on the emotive anniversary of the Sept 11 attack in New York two years ago.
Said Mr Pike: 'Cancun would not have been my suggested location for a meeting like this. And certainly not at that time.'
© Copyright 2003, Singapore Press Holdings
