THERE has been a "dramatic" drop in the number of planned trips to Tunisia after last month's terrorist attack at a beach resort in Sousse, according to newspaper reports. Tourism is critical to Tunisia's economy, accounting for 15 percent of its gross domestic product in 2013. It is the largest source of employment outside agriculture. Those who planned Friday's attacks may have intended to cripple the North African nation's economy or may have been deliberately targeting European tourists. Tunisia's sun-drenched Mediterranean beaches draw six million holidaymakers a year. Sousse was not the first attack of its kind. In October 2013, there was a failed attack outside a hotel on the very same beach. In March this year, 21 people were killed when gunmen opened fire on visitors at Tunisia's most renowned Bardo National Museum, leading to a drop of 40 percent in French tourist bookings. It was the most deadly terrorist attack in Tunisia in more than a decade. In 2012, there was an assault on US Embassy in Tunis. The last major attack on a civilian target was in 2002, when Al-Qaeda militants killed more than 20 people in a car bombing outside a synagogue in the city of Djerba. But Daesh (so-called IS), which is said to be behind the Sousse attack, is far more powerful and deadlier than Al-Qaeda. The ability to capture and hold vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria has lent it a degree of legitimacy and some kind of mystique in extremist circles. It is attracting more young men from Tunisia to its ranks than from any other nation. Tunisia is one of the major sources of foreign fighters in the Syrian conflict. At least 3,000 Tunisians have joined militant groups in Syria, with most fighting for Daesh. These people can spread radical ideologies back home. According to Prime Minister Habib Essid, some 1,000 terrorists are already in prison. Extremists can easily get arms and training in neighboring Libya where various armed groups are battling for supremacy. The Sousse gunman Seifeddine Rezgui was trained in Libya. This is what should really worry the Tunisian authorities, not any temporary fall in tourism bookings. So improving the security and intelligence can only be one part of the strategy to fight terrorism. The other part should consist of measures to prevent the youngsters being driven into the hands of those who preach extremism or radicalism. Imams, teachers, and social workers and media should be enlisted in a campaign aimed at countering the allure of such preachers or recruiters. There are complaints that authorities were not alert to the danger even after the Bardo attack. So there are likely to be calls for severe anti-terrorism measures including tightened security and a crackdown on mosques that promote extremism. Anyway, the government has decided to pass a counter-terrorism law before Republic Day on July 25. First proposed in January 2014, the law would increase police powers and provide for harsher penalties. It also seeks to tackle the roots of terrorism by addressing economic and social causes that breed extremism, and creating “de-radicalization” centers to change minds through persuasion. Some features of the law have drawn criticism from human rights activists. They say the law as it is contains provisions that ousted President Ben Ali used to silence political dissent and stifle freedom of the press. The government should address such concerns and refrain from reacting in ways that has added infinitely more fuel to the fire of extremism in some other countries. “This war is not between terrorists and the state, but between terrorists and the people,” says Mohsen Marzouk, a founding member of Nidaa Tounes, a secular party. But too much stress on safety and security ignoring the changes Tunisia has undergone after the ouster of Ben Ali will only lead to a new conflict between the state and citizens to the benefit of terrorists.
