Combating terrorism:

Consistency of standards vital

Prof. G.L. Peiris tells Cambridge University symposium :

The potential of groups linked to terrorist organizations to destabilize financial markets and even national economies is considerable, and requires the focused attention of governments and civil society, Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, said in Cambridge, England, this week.

He was addressing the 29th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, University of Cambridge.

Prof. Peiris and Attorney-General of England and Wales Dominic Grieve Q.C. were invited to deliver keynote inaugural addresses at this event which brought together judges, lawyers, academics, diplomats and leaders of the business community and civil society from 90 countries.

Minister Peiris referred to an incident which had occurred in a bank in Colombo in the early 1980s, to illustrate the global implications of malpractices in respect of foreign exchange, committed by persons in a distant country collaborating with terrorist organizations in pursuit of their objectives. In this instance a dealer working for a bank in Colombo had purported wrongfully to use the bank’s authority to transfer large sums of money from one country to another, and after a considerable period his misconduct came to light by chance when particulars relating to these transactions were reflected in the bank’s computers on a day when he happened to be on leave.

Further inquiries revealed that the cumulative effect of these transactions had been to enable access by a terrorist organization to substantial resources accumulated in Western Europe over a sustained period for purchasing arms and equipment. Sophisticated techniques involving paperless transactions had been resorted to for attaining these ends, high lighting the need for exceptional vigilance to ensure that modern technology is not misused for criminal purposes.

Citing the post – conflict situation in Sri Lanka as a further example, Minister Peiris said that the government has to be on its guard with regard to the risk that groups pursuing terrorist aims may try to use inward remittances to secure a dominant stake in corporations or other entities controlling vital sectors of the economy such as ports and harbours, power and energy, irrigation systems and highways. The danger that insidious means and front organizations may be exploited, has constantly to be borne in mind, the Minister emphasized.

These considerations have vital bearing on international financial markets as well, he said.

‘This is borne out by a development last week, in which a 100 – strong international gang engaged in credit card fraud, hacking into bank accounts across the globe through the internet from Malaysia and using the information obtained in this way to secure fake credit and debit cards in India, had been arrested by the police in the Indian city of Bangalore, he said. He underscored the potential for a relatively small economy to be placed in jeopardy by the use of such means which will have a ripple effect on neighbouring economies too. Manipulation of a stock market of modest dimensions is also a distinct danger, he added.

In dealing with a society in a period of transition from conflict to stability, the international community needs to demonstrate sensitivity both to the increasing sophistication of the modalities of financial fraud and to the nuances of the local situation, Prof. Peiris commented.

Presentign an overview of Sri Lanka’s current situation to the Cambridge Symposium, he referred to the multiple initiatives by the government in a variety of fields to promote the objectives of reconciliation and reintegration as a counter to the re-emergence of terrorism, by dealing effectively with issues relating to the resettlement of internally displaced persons, the rehabilitation of ex-combantants, the restoration of livelihoods and incomes in areas of the country affected by military action and revival of the political and electoral processes, especially at the grass roots level.

He said that the international community, in seeking to protect the integrity of financial systems and the stability of societies, must co-ordinate their initiatives with governments committed to combating terrorism and promoting reconciliation in their countries. The multi-pronged strategies currently being implemented in Sri Lanka, in the context of a highly visible revival of the economy and the strengthening of financial institutions, have a practical value transcending the specific features of the country situation and reflecting global imperatives in respect of protection of financial systems against terrorist-linked activity, he continued.

Above all, the minister emphasized, subjective approaches marked by inconsistency and selectivity should be avoided in prescribing patterns of behaviour for societies in such a transition phase. It is of crucial importance to reject political gradations within the spectrum of terrorism and to refrain from responses founded on subjective judgment and thinly veiled expediency, he said.

Prof. Peiris is a former Distinguished Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge, and Quondam Smuts Visiting Fellow in Commonwealth Studies in the University of Cambridge.

Among the other speakers at the symposium were Justice Elena de Nolasco, Judge of the Supreme Court of Argentina, Justice Yoram Danziger, Judge of the Supreme Court of Israel, Sundaresh Menon, Attorney-General of Singapore, and Professor Avrom Sherr, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in the University of London.