Is there a tyranny-terror link?

IS democracy the best defence against terrorism? This was the theme of a forum organised a few weeks ago by the Islamic Re­­naissance Front.

All the distinguished speakers, including Prof James Piscatori and Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, agreed that democracy, with all its flaws, is pre­ferable to dictatorships. Demo­cracy has an elective system of govern­ment. It allows peaceful change of power. It respects human rights. It allows grievances to be aired. Discussion before decision is an essential prerequisite of a democratic set-up. In contrast, terrorism is a failure or absence of dialogue.