Johannesburg - The South African government should stop hiding behind politics and clearly, publicly, state its plans to counteract threatened terror attacks by Islamic State, Institute for Security Studies counter- terrorism expert Anton du Plessis said on Tuesday morning.
Downplaying threats by both the Department of State Security and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation was counter-productive, he said.
“No one knows for sure if anything is going to happen. It is a serious threat which has been put out by Islamic State and which has been raised to high levels all over the world, so it should be taken seriously.”
However, people should not panic.
“South Africans have enough to worry about with crime and other issues, but it is naive and irresponsible of government not to take this seriously,” said Du Plessis.
“Government should also be informing us what steps and what levels of co-operation they have with other threatened countries and to assure us that there is a plan in place.
“There is a fine balance between creating unnecessary panic and ignoring or denying the problem,” he said.
In the meantime, most of South Africa’s major shopping centres have stepped up security, after two of the world’s superpowers, along with Australia, issued alerts of possible terror attacks targeted at Joburg and Cape Town malls.
It emerged on Monday that Australia had joined Britain and the US in updating its travel advisory on terror alerts for its citizens intending to visit South Africa.
The Australian government has also updated its travel advisory for South Africa, saying: “The US government issued a terrorism alert to its citizens in South Africa on June 4.
“The warning notes that the government has received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out near-term attacks against places where US citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
“Be particularly vigilant in areas frequented by foreigners at this time.
“The level of this advice has not changed. We continue to advise Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in South Africa.”
Over the weekend, the US government issued a terror alert for South Africa after Islamic State made a public call for its adherents to carry out terrorist attacks globally during the month of Ramadaan, which started today.
“The US government has received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out near-term attacks against places where US citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town,” said US Embassy spokeswoman Cynthia Harvey.
“Protection of US citizens overseas is among our top priorities. When we receive specific, credible, non-counterable threat information, it is our worldwide policy for US embassies and consulates to share the information. We are co-operating with local authorities, as we do in any investigation into terrorist threats around the world,” she said.
This appeared to prompt the UK to issue an alert of its own on Monday, by adjusting warnings and travel advisories for its citizens.
A few hours later, Australia wasted no time in following suit.
On Monday, the South African government appeared to downplay the terror threat alerts, saying the warning by the US government was merely part of Washington’s standard precautionary communication to its citizens around the world.
“The country’s security services have liaised with the Americans on the concerns they have. These engagements will continue as part of the ongoing work,” read a statement from the State Security Ministry.
“We remain a strong and stable democratic country and there’s no immediate danger posed by the alert.”
But from Joburg and Pretoria to Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg, major shopping centres are leaving nothing to chance.
In Joburg, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City and Eastgate have confirmed stepping up their security.
“We have taken note of the security alert issued by the US diplomatic mission to South Africa. We are also working closely with the SAPS,” said Nomzamo Radebe, the chief executive of JHI Retail.
Radebe said security at Liberty Midlands Mall in Pietermaritzburg and Liberty Promenade in Cape Town had also been beefed up.
Mall of Africa in Midrand's manager Vanessa Fourie said: “We are aware of the terror alert. We are working with security agencies in all our properties, guided by our policies to safeguard our property and customers.”
Management at Menlyn Park in Pretoria also indicated it was improving security.
Meanwhile, South African-based American students have mixed views on possible terror attacks.
Tara Longardner, a student at Northwestern University in Chicago now interning in Cape Town, said on Tuesday morning that she was “not too worried”.
“I think that since the warning was put out (nothing’s) really going to happen. I could always be wrong and maybe that's naive.”
She said because the threat targeted specific areas, such as shopping malls in Joburg and Cape Town, it was very easy to avoid “dangerous places”.
However, Stellenbosch-based Isaac Yampolsky, another Northwestern University student, said he was concerned because he had done research on previous terrorist threats and learnt about them in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup.
However, he said he didn't plan on letting the alert affect his routine.
The Star