Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14
By Claude Salhani - Trend:
Following a series of terrorist attacks Friday night on the French capital, President François Hollande declared a state of emergency throughout the country and closed the country's borders. Those were unprecedented moves in a Western democracy.
The violence which killed at least 140 people was described by officials as the worst violence in the country since the end of World War II.
Indeed the terrorist attacks on France were designed to target multiple goals.
First the choice of targets, called soft targets, meaning that they are practically impossible to secure were not haphazardly chosen. There is indeed shrewd thinking in the selection of cafés, restaurants and concert halls; places where ordinary people went about their daily lives. The aim of this of course is to install fear in peoples lives.
Second, the synchronization of the six or seven terrorist attacks in Paris seems to convey the message from the terrorists that they can strike anytime they want and anywhere they want. And in a democratic society it is impossible to secure every location every day without infringing on the people's rights.
Third was the timing of the attacks, on a Friday night when large numbers of Parisians are out enjoying themselves in their traditional manner. The attacks are therefore meant to disrupt the lives of normal citizens and to hurt the economy, as people would be afraid to go out to the very places where they normally go. Coming at the beginning of the Christmas season when people tend to go out more and spend more these attacks were designed to hurt the economy.
And finally they will achieve that short-term result of turning the people of France against immigrants and against foreigners which will play into the hands of Anti-democratic forces in the country.
The attacks that took place last night are attacks not only on France but on the whole civilized world.
In the short-term the terrorists have achieve their objectives; they have caused terror, they have killed people, innocent people. They have disrupted the lives of tens of thousands of people and they are forcing the authorities to adopt measures which in normal times goes counter to democratic norms.
But that's in the short-term. It remains to be seen what the long-term reply from France and other countries concerned will be? Because Paris is not the end of the road; regretfully it's only the beginning. Other cities around the world could be next unless serious efforts are taken to address this very, very serious threat.
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Claude Salhani is a senior editor with Trend Agency