No al Qaeda networks in SA, insists Kasrils

Cape Town – Although “elements” of al Qaeda had been detected in South Africa, the terrorist organisation had established no networks in the country, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said yesterday.

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 said.

However, there was no evidence the country was being “over-run by these people”, and claims that al Qaeda now stretched from Pakistan to South Africa gave the wrong impression.

The tremendous international clampdown on terror organisations had seen al Qaeda go to ground and spread.

“Yes, there have been elements here, but there is no network to speak of.”

Mr 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.”

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.

On the two South Africans arrested in Pakistan in July in the company of a known al Qaeda operative, Mr Kasrils said: “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, Mr 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

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