02 October 2001
Excerpts: U.N. General Assembly Opens Week-Long Debate on Terrorism
(Diplomats condemn Sept. 11 attacks, call for coordinated action)
(2040)
The United Nations General Assembly on October 1 opened a week-long
debate on measures to combat international terrorism, with countries
strongly condemning the September 11 attacks against the United States
and pledging to take specific actions to eradicate terrorism.
Following are excerpts from some of the presentations made during the
first two days of debate:
(begin excerpts)
President of the U.N. General Assembly, Han Seung-Soo of the Republic
of Korea:
"We meet today almost three weeks after the worst terrorist assault in
the history of the world. I know I speak for all of us in conveying
once again my deepest sympathy and condolences to the families and
loved ones of the more than 6,000 victims.
"As stated in Security Council resolution 1368 of 12 September, these
vicious attacks, unprecedented in scale and brutality, pose a direct
threat to international peace and security. More than that, these
actions were aimed not just at physical targets, but indeed at the
very structure of civilized values -- peace, freedom, tolerance, and
human rights -- around which the international community is organized.
" ... I want to emphasize that the fight against terrorism is an issue
that transcends cultural and religious differences, while threatening
people of all cultures and religious faiths. We must never forget that
terrorism is not a weapon wielded by one civilization against another,
but rather an instrument of destruction through which small bands of
criminals seek to undermine civilization itself."
Francisco X. Aguirre Sacasa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua:
"We need to be conscious that we now face a common enemy, an enemy
that operates clandestinely, in cowardly fashion but with great
sophistication, an enemy frequently linked to other international
crimes, such as drug trafficking, money laundering and the diverse
forms of organized crime that facilitate and finance the commission of
these criminal acts.
"For this reason, in order to safeguard security for humanity and the
fundamental values of our civilization, we need to continue on ahead,
to rise without hesitation from this trial and strengthen cooperation
in order to declare together a world war on terrorism, a common enemy
of all peoples, of all beliefs and religions, and of peace and
democracy."
Mohamed Bennouna, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United
Nations:
"No doubt that the purpose behind the attacks directed at innocent
civilians in the United States was to spread terror and panic in this
country, and in the world as a whole. But they also aimed at
triggering a clash of civilizations and religions.
"Hence the danger of terrorist acts which pose, by their very nature,
unprecedented threats to international peace and security. This new
type of threat is aimed at sparking off conflicts between religious or
cultural groups and, therefrom, taking us back to barbarism.
"The terrorists who struck thousands of people in the United States
and plunged thousands of families into mourning wanted to destroy the
common values of humanity, namely those of tolerance, respect for
differences and acceptance of diversity of cultures and civilizations.
More than that, it's our heritage, our belief, our spirituality and
secular creativity that are targeted in the long run."
Umit Pamir, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations:
"Our own experience with terrorism has clearly shown that this fight
has two fundamental dimensions. The first one is the moral pillar. If
there were any arguments that terrorists might also have a defensible
cause, September 11 must have put this forever to rest. There are no
gray areas in the fight against terrorism, nor are there 'good
terrorists' and 'bad terrorists.' This is the time for the
international community as a whole and for the states individually to
condemn unequivocally all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as
criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, in all
their forms and manifestations. Likewise, it is high time for us to
recognize that this scourge is a human rights violation in one of its
most blatant forms.
"The second pillar is about the scope and the effectiveness of the
international mechanisms to combat this evil. This requires us to make
full use of the means and mechanisms already in place and to bolster
them in a fashion that will progressively establish an effective
system that will strangle the terrorist livelihood. This system needs
to be of an all-encompassing nature integrating its capabilities with
those instruments utilized in the fight against all types of organized
crime, first and foremost being drug-trafficking, the natural ally of
terrorism."
Juan Gabriel Valdes, Permanent Representative of Chile to the United
Nations:
"Whether this particular moment in history ushers in a period of
greater uncertainty or commits mankind to the task of reparation and
justice will largely depend on the capacity for leadership shown by
governments and the international community.
"That is why from the outset we believed that condemnation of the
horror is an unavoidable ethical act, independently of any analysis or
review of the causes that have led to the planning of the horrendous
attack of which the people of the United States have been victims.
"Absolutely nothing can justify these acts. Addressing the thousands
of Chileans who participated in the act of solidarity held a few days
ago in our capital city for the victims of the tragedy, the President
of Chile, Ricardo Lagos, stated: "This is a crime against all humanity
and the position of Chile is clear: we are not neutral, we share the
anger of the innocents, of those who fell and died." We therefore
understand, Mr. President, that the criminal attack is not directed
only against the United States. And the pain, the devastation and the
sudden uncertainty do not affect only that nation. We are all
affected. We have all been attacked."
Sergey A. Ordzhonikidze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Russian Federation:
"The tragedy underscored the fact that the international community
does not have a single day to lose. Mankind has found itself facing a
real, not abstract, threat to the life of people, to the security of
states and to the stability of political and economic systems of
entire nations posed by the forces of Terrorist International...
"All sensible people, even those who do not deal professionally with
law enforcement issues, understand that it is only through common
efforts that we can put an end to terrorism on the planet... Terrorism
is not only a dangerous but also an insidious enemy; it takes
advantage of any weak link in the chain of states which fight against
it. Of special concern are the expanding ties between international
terrorism and transnational organized crime, illegal drug business,
money laundering and illegal trafficking in nuclear, chemical,
biological and other hazardous materials.
"That is why we, [for] our part, are not only ready for but also
insist on the closest possible interaction among members of the
international community in fighting against this scourge of the 21st
century. The priority task is to establish a global system to
counteract new threats and challenges, which would ensure, among other
things, the inevitable punishment of all those responsible for
organizing and perpetrating terrorist acts."
Jorge Eduardo Navarrete, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the
United Nations:
"What happened a few weeks ago in the United States is a wake-up call
to all states to fight for peace. And that is why there can be no
ambiguity about Mexico's support for the United States and for
democratic and free countries in the fight against terrorism."
"These acts, whose grave consequences, as was already mentioned,
touched more than 80 nations, have deeply affected the people of
Mexico. Mexico reiterates its condolences and solidarity with the
people and government of the United States and the other nations
affected. My country too has been directly injured, since the victims
include a still-to-be-determined, but unfortunately high, number of
nationals of Mexico.
"Since 11th September, Mexico strongly and unequivocally condemned
these acts and strengthened its cooperation with the United States and
with the other members of the United Nations to ensure that the
perpetrators are brought to justice."
Hasmy Agam, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United
Nations:
"In the wake of the horrific attacks on the United States, the Prime
Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, had called for the
convening of a world conference of leaders to discuss the issue of
international terrorism because of the serious nature of this crime,
which can affect all countries. While he understood the reasons for
the ongoing planning to hunt down terrorist groups and stop terrorism,
he was against the use of force that would result in the victimization
of innocent civilians. He felt that retaliatory actions through the
use of force would not solve the problem, as they might only provoke
counter-retaliation and are therefore fraught with risks.
" ... While Malaysia strongly supports efforts to curb terrorism, it
is timely for the world community to give serious attention to solving
problems which drove people to resort to terrorism. This is not to
excuse, or mitigate blame on the use of terror, as there can be no
excuse or mitigation whatsoever for such acts, but to appreciate the
complexity of the problem of international terrorism so that we will
be better able to combat it with all the means at our disposal."
Sotos Zackheos, Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United
Nations:
"The 11th of September will go down in history as a day of infamy but
also as the day when the international community has been energized to
tackle once and for all this scourge from the face of the planet... It
is a phenomenon that transcends national borders, religions, cultures
and civilizations. That is why it is imperative that it be addressed
through a global and multilateral approach. The primary responsibility
in the fight against terrorism undeniably lies with the United
Nations, which through the Security Council and the General Assembly
had immediately responded to the shocking events of 11 September with
determination, adopting the relevant resolutions of two weeks ago, and
especially Security Council resolution 1373 of last Friday.
"The fight against terrorism must unite all humanity and cannot be
allowed to fall victim to politicization and ephemeral considerations.
Cyprus categorically rejects any such attempt, or any tendency to
equate terrorism with the Arab or Muslim world, and in this respect,
we commend the outstanding efforts of President Bush to safeguard the
culture of tolerance and multiculturalism, which is the cornerstone of
American society and the source of its strength."
Shamshad Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United
Nations:
"My own country, Pakistan, which abhors terrorism and deplores
violence of all sorts and scales, did not hesitate to respect and
accept the international consensus. We have always condemned terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism. We
have never condoned acts of terrorism and have been cooperating with
international community in combating this universal evil. Today again,
we have pledged our full support and unstinted cooperation to the
fight against terrorism.
"We welcome this important and serious issue being discussed in the
Plenary of the General Assembly. The resultant approach shall, of
course, be encapsulated in the resolution to be worked out in the
Sixth Committee. Meanwhile, the Security Council has also adopted a
comprehensive resolution last Friday giving the fight against
terrorism a new momentum. It obliges all member states to deny
financing, support and safe haven to terrorisms. We hope that this,
coupled with the existing international conventions relating to
terrorism, would provide an effective normative framework to the world
community to deal with this global menace.
"We in Pakistan will continue to abide by our obligations under the
Charter of the United Nations. President Musharraf has clearly
pronounced our policy on this matter and has taken our people into
confidence in support of our decision to be part of international
coalition against terrorism. It is a difficult path but we are
determined to support what is right and what is just."
(end excerpts)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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