Terrorisme

We gingen weer verder met het lesmateriaal van het Zinn Education Project over de oorlog in Irak en de War on Terrorism.

Deze keer ging het over terrorisme en wat bestempeld kan worden als terrorisme en wat niet.
Eerst zochten we een Nederlandse definitie van terrorisme op. We kwamen op deze website: https://www.aivd.nl/onderwerpen/terrorisme

Daarna lazen we verschillende situatieschetsen. Het waren beschrijvingen van gebeurtenissen die echt zijn gebeurd, maar de namen van de landen waren aangepast in verzonnen namen.

Bij iedere situatie stonden drie vragen:
'1. Does this situation meet your definition of terrorism?
2. Who are the “terrorists” in the situation?
3. What additional information would you need to know to be surer of your answers?'

Hieronder zal ik een van de situatieschetsen delen, met daarna ook de bijbehorende toelichting over om welke landen het echt ging.

Berend vond het interessant om te doen, hij vond het een mooie uitdaging om bij alle situatieschetsen te bedenken om welke landen het ging. Hij vond wel dat het meeste meer onder het kopje 'oologsmisdaden' viel en niet echt terrorisme.

Deel 1: Situatieschets:

'Simultaneously, two embassies of the country of Anza were bombed—each in a different country. In one country, 213 people were killed and over 1,000 injured; in the other, 11 people were killed and at least 70 injured. 

In retaliation, about three weeks later, Anza launched missiles at the capital city of Baltus, destroying a pharmaceutical factory, injuring at least 10 people, and killing one. Anza claimed that this factory was manufacturing chemicals that could be used to make VX nerve gas—although Anza offered no substantial proof of this claim. Anza also claimed that a prominent individual who they link to the embassy bombings was connected to the pharmaceutical factory, although they provided no evidence of this claim, either—and a great deal of evidence exists to prove that there is no link. 

Baltus pointed out that they expelled the prominent individual two years earlier and vigorously denied that the pharmaceutical plant was producing nerve gas agents. They said that this important factory produced 70 percent of the needed medicines for the people of Baltus—including vital medicines to treat malaria and tuberculosis. 

They allowed journalists and other diplomats to visit the factory to verify that no chemical weapons were being produced there. Those who visited the factory agreed that the destroyed factory appeared to be producing only medicines. It is not known how many people may have died in Baltus for lack of the medicines that were being produced in that factory. Anza blocked the United Nations from launching the investigation demanded by Baltus.'

Deel 2: Onthulling wie is wie:

'The country of Anza is the United States. Baltus is Sudan. The countries where the
U.S. embassies were bombed are Kenya and Tanzania. The prominent individual mentioned is Osama bin Laden.'