The day terrorism came to this country (1)

Let’s face the unpalatable fact. What happened at the offices of Transport Malta was not “merely” an explosion or a bomb going off, to be benignly classified as a crime. It was a terrorist attack.

The word “terrorism” doesn’t reside in some far-away land inhabited by bearded, religious fundamentalists or freedom-fighters fire-powering their way to independence from a perceived or actual occupier. Al-Qaeda, ETA or Hizbollah are names that spring to mind because they make it to pages of our newspapers or the evening news on television. That they happen to be well-organised foreign groups is beside the point. Terrorism can be home-grown and the terrorist can be acting alone.

What happened on Thursday is by no means different to these terrorist organisations’ modus operandi. A bomb was used against the employees and on the premises of a government authority. Unless it is proven that this was a bloody, personal vendetta against an individual who happens to work there, then it is clearly the act of a person, or group of people, intent on influencing the workings of TM. So much so, TM felt it necessary to issue a statement “urging employees and visitors not to let this cowardly attack condition their activities”.

Irrespective of whether one agrees with some of the entity’s policies or not, inflicting terror on its workers and, as a consequence, intimidating the public, is an abhorrent tactic. As a nation we must stand up to the terrorist/s. As for myself, I look forward to participating in a show of national unity against acts of terror and in solidarity with the victims of this act.