World on Alert

By+Bai+Shi

The relatively long-standing peace and safety that France has enjoyed in modern times was shattered in a shooting that killed 12 people in Paris on January 7. The fact that the tragedy marks the first terrorist attack in France in two decades is， on the face of it， surprising， given the countrys involvement in the war in Afghanistan and in recent air strikes against Islamic State targets in north Iraq.

The massacre was carried out by two gunmen at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. On January 9， another gunman hijacked a Jewish supermarket in east Paris and killed four customers in an attempt to get the suspects of the Charlie Hebdo attack out of a police siege. The violence came to an end after all three gunmen were killed in separate police operations later in the day.

Local police identified the two gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo shooting as Cherif Kouachi， 32， and his 34-year-old brother Said.

The Kouachi brothers， both Algerian French， were born in Paris. French media said that Cherif was a convicted Islamist who was jailed in 2008 and had long been known to police for militant activities. Cherif and Said returned to France from Syria last summer.

Amedy Coulibaly， 18， the hostage taker at the Jewish supermarket， was a friend of the Kouachi brothers， who graduated from a high school in Reims in northeast France last year.

Hayat Boumeddiene， Coulibalys partner， is wanted by the police in connection with the shootings. Security authorities in Turkey have confirmed that she has travelled to Syria from Turkey.

Internal threats

The last time a serious terror attack struck France was in 1995 when an Algerian Islamic extremist group detonated a bomb at a subway in Paris and killed eight people.

The latest shootings revealed loopholes in French security， according to some antiterror experts. The three dead gunmen and the wanted Boumeddiene were under police surveillance for their contact with Islamic extremism. But the surveillance imposed on them ended last July because the police considered them to be a low-risk threat. The French public has criticized the authorities for failing to prevent the tragic bloodshed.

In fact， France has taken strict precautions against terror threats in the last few decades， said Zhang Jian， Director of the Institute of European Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations （CICIR）， in an interview with Beijing Review.

West European countries have strengthened their homeland intelligence and security since the bombing attacks in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005， Zhang said.

French security authorities have imposed strict surveillance on a large number of suspicious targets and detained some of them in connection with planned terror attacks.

Even so， the police surveillance failed to prevent the shootings in Paris partly because of laws limiting the amount of time a suspect can be held in custody， Zhang said.

The cost of surveillance work is also prohibitive. Generally， 25 police officers are needed to monitor a suspect round the clock， according to French media.

Another problem is that the terror threat is rising in Western Europe as many young people have left for the Middle East to join extremist groups. After a period of time， these well-trained militants have returned to their European homes in search of opportunities to launch attacks.

The Kouachi brothers seemed to have received combat training， as evidenced by their calmness in the shooting， Zhang said.

Yemens al Qaeda branch on January 14 claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo. One of its top commanders said in a video clip that the assault was in revenge for the weeklys publications of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad， which is considered an insult in Islam.

The Globe and Mail， a Canadian newspaper， has reported that as many as 3，000 international militants who joined extremist groups in the Middle East have returned to their homes in Europe. The extremism has thereby spilled over to Europe from the war-torn region.

In response， it is urgent for EU members to enhance counter-terror cooperation， and intelligence sharing in particular， Zhang said.

Deep-rooted problems

The Paris attacks have raised concerns over tensions between mainstream society and the huge Muslim immigrant population in Western Europe.

On the whole， differing ethnic groups live in peace in these countries， but the inherent tensions between the mainstream Christian society and Islamic immigrants as well as the divergence between Muslims and Jewish groups are deep-rooted， said Li Weijian， Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies under the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

In Western Europe， France has the largest population of Muslim immigrants at up to 6 million. Muslim immigrants have long struggled to adapt to local customs due to cultural and religious differences. But more importantly， the French Government has taken a hardline approach to managing Muslim immigration. For example， it banned women from wearing veils in public places in April 2011， triggering widespread discontent among Muslims， Li said.

In recent years， an economic recession and high unemployment further marginalized underprivileged groups of Muslims in West European countries. Against this backdrop， extremism easily appeals to some disillusioned young Muslims， Li said.

Terrorists and extremists are adept at making use of ethnic and religious conflicts to incite violence and attacks， said Li Wei， Director of the Center of Antiterror Studies under the CICIR.

Li Wei also suggested that the West should rethink their foreign policies. Western countries have used force to promote Western values in the Middle East and North Africa in past years， but most of the affected countries in the regions did not build democratic regimes as the West had expected. Instead， violence and extremist groups have become rampant there. The rise of the Islamic State makes for yet another threat to global security. The military intervention by the West has continually spurred resistance and discontent in the Islamic world， Li Wei noted.

Some have warned of the risks of xenophobia that could mount across Europe after the Paris attacks.

Recently， thousands of far-right political activists attended a large demonstration in Dresden， Germany. Meanwhile， Germanys top politicians and leaders of religious communities joined a Muslim-organized solidarity rally in Berlin on January 13， calling for joint actions against terrorism and a peaceful coexistence between different religions.

EU leaders have also called on member states to speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism and keep alert on extremist political formations in their countries.

In the near future， the French police may take stricter measures to safeguard domestic security， putting pressure on immigrant communities. Rational politicians are fully aware that immigration is never the root of social problems； on the contrary， they are victims of Europes social problems， Zhang said. He added that if the French Government tightens its immigration policy， the move will fulfill the wishes of far-right forces.

An antiterror policy of “tit-for-tat” will not resolve the problem. European countries should create better conditions for their ethnic minorities to integrate into the mainstream society， and further promote mutual respect and understanding for different cultures and religions， leaving no space for extremists， terrorists or farright groups to thrive， Li said.