11 October 2001
Text: State Dept. Official on Western Hemisphere Response to Terrorism
(Countries of the Americas support global anti-terrorism coalition)
(1650)
In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, the nations of the Western Hemisphere have strongly
supported U.S. efforts to construct a global coalition against
terrorism, says Curt Struble, deputy assistant secretary of state for
Western Hemisphere affairs.
Testifying before Congress on October 10, Struble recalled the
"outpouring of support, sympathy and outrage by our Western Hemisphere
neighbors" in response to the September 11 attacks, while also citing
numerous examples of specific anti-terrorism measures that the region
has adopted since then.
In the days immediately following the attacks, he said, the United
States was overwhelmed with generous offers of "rescue assistance,
medical teams, plasma and military support" that "flowed in" from
around the Americas. These actions by the nations of the hemisphere
dramatically underline President Bush's statement "that the campaign
against terrorism has to be global and that every country in the world
has a role to play," Struble declared. "Countries from the Bahamas to
Argentina to Canada have taken concrete steps to freeze accounts
linked to Osama bin Laden and his associates, as called for in U.N.
Security Council Resolutions 1333 and 1373."
Furthermore, "we are in close contact with authorities from Argentina,
Brazil and Paraguay to share intelligence about possible terrorist
activities in the tri-border area of those countries," he noted. "The
countries of Central America are looking at ways to improve border
security and improve the sharing of information about migrants.
Colombia is offering to share with its regional neighbors its
technical expertise in areas such as money laundering gained in close
partnership with the U.S. in the past."
However, Struble warned that "more needs to be done to monitor and
suppress money laundering and alien smuggling," which he described as
"criminal activities that also provide resources and logistic[al]
support for terrorists." He added that the United States is "urging
all the countries of the hemisphere to sign and ratify the 12
international conventions that deal with counterterrorism and to
implement fully the terms of UNSC 1333 and 1373 with respect to
blocking terrorists' access to funds."
Finally, he said, "our hemispheric commitment to confront terrorism
will be demonstrated by the concrete measures we take as sovereign
governments and as a community of governments to arm ourselves against
this worldwide threat."
Following is the text of his remarks, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
STATEMENT OF DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY CURT STRUBLE
BUREAU OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS
BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the
countries of the Americas have responded strongly and positively
against international terrorism and in solidarity with the United
States, and have supported our efforts to construct an international
counterterrorism coalition. Indeed, the outpouring of support,
sympathy and outrage by our Western Hemisphere neighbors has been
especially gratifying to those of us who have worked in the hemisphere
for any length of time. These horrific events have underscored the
values and humanity we hold in common, reminding us that the people of
this hemisphere hold a special feeling for the U.S.; cherish democracy
and the free exchange of ideas; and share our respect for the sanctity
of human life and our outrage at the callous, wanton cruelty of those
who would seek to destroy it all.
As Ambassador Noriega has made clear, the political response of the
hemisphere's governments and foreign ministers in the OAS and within
the Rio Treaty context has been gratifying and vitally important as
the U.S. shapes its response to terrorism. Some countries which have
experienced terrorist acts in their own territory in the past,
empathized automatically. At the same time, the deeply-felt humanity
of the responses has been particularly poignant. In the statements and
actions of leaders and individuals there has uniformly been a sense
that they not only understood our pain and grief but that they shared
in our loss. Indeed, many did literally share our suffering. Thirty of
the hemisphere's 34 nations lost citizens in the events of September
11, a tragic testimony of the degree to which our fates are linked.
Among those nations directly affected, El Salvador counts 122 dead and
missing, the Dominican Republic 42, and Ecuador 31.
The Western Hemisphere, perhaps more than any region in the world, has
benefited from the free flow of trade, people and ideas, and the U.S.
has been a natural focus of that flow. What we have discovered in the
past two weeks is that that flow, in addition to creating a natural
commonality of interest, has also fostered bonds that go far deeper.
A mound of flowers as high as the embassy gate in Ottawa; flags at
half-mast throughout the hemisphere; a simple heart-rending ceremony
by Ecuador's firefighters honoring their fallen comrades in New York
City; a day of remembrance for the September 11 victims at the rebuilt
AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires -- rebuilt following the
1994 terrorist attack that killed 86 Argentines. All of these gestures
speak to the shared bonds within our hemisphere and transcend the
daily press of events that often seem to divide us. Cuba alone failed
to join the hemispheric chorus of sympathy and support, choosing
instead to criticize the United States and say we brought the attacks
upon ourselves.
In the days immediately following the attacks, there was a sense among
our neighbors in the hemisphere that they could not offer help,
condolences and support fast enough to mollify their own feelings of
sympathy and outrage. Offers of rescue assistance, medical teams,
plasma and military support flowed in so quickly that managing them
and responding was difficult. President de la Rua offered Argentina's
world-class military peacekeepers to lessen such commitments by our
armed forces at a time we need to husband our strength. Expressions of
sentiment followed as quickly: a flood of letters from presidents and
prime ministers; 100,000 people at a memorial service on Parliament
Hill in Ottawa; a group of schoolchildren with a wreath and a handmade
card in La Paz. In Jamaica, tossing protocol concerns aside, both the
Governor-General and the Prime Minister paid unprecedented calls upon
the embassy in Kingston to offer their condolences and to express
their support. The people of Canada opened their homes to welcome the
hundreds of air travelers whose flights were diverted on that tragic
day. In Brasilia, the President and Foreign Minister spent an hour at
our embassy mingling with staff to provide encouragement in a dark
hour.
The governments of Bolivia and Ecuador held memorial services attended
by Presidents Quiroga and Noboa. The government of Paraguay declared a
48-hour period of mourning. Several countries cancelled national day
ceremonies. In Rio de Janeiro, the memorial service at the local
Anglican Church was attended by the religious leader of the Islamic
Center in Sao Paulo, who flew to Rio simply to attend the ceremony and
to demonstrate "... our solidarity with the American people, declaring
our vehement repudiation of all types of terrorism, perfidy and
extremism." President Fox of Mexico met with President Bush on October
4 to reaffirm Mexican support for the United States. President Toledo
of Peru made an unplanned visit to the OAS Special General Assembly on
the morning of September 11 to express Peru's outrage at the terrorist
attacks and express solidarity with the assembled foreign ministers of
the hemisphere.
Moreover, these expressions of solidarity and sympathy are being
matched by concrete actions by the nations of the hemisphere,
underlining the President's statement that the campaign against
terrorism has to be global and that every country in the world has a
role to play. Countries from the Bahamas to Argentina to Canada have
taken concrete steps to freeze accounts linked to Osama bin Laden and
his associates as called for in U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1333
and 1373. Governments have beefed up security measures: Panama
enhancing security to assure the protection of the Panama Canal and
Venezuela providing additional protection for our diplomatic
residences and schools used by Americans in Caracas. We are in close
contact with authorities from Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to share
intelligence about possible terrorist activities in the tri-border
area of those countries. The countries of Central America are looking
at ways to improve border security and improve the sharing of
information about migrants. Colombia is offering to share with its
regional neighbors its technical expertise in areas such as money
laundering gained in close partnership with the U.S. in the past. More
needs to be done to monitor and suppress money laundering and alien
smuggling, criminal activities that also provide resources and
logistic support for terrorist. We are urging all the countries of the
hemisphere to sign and ratify the 12 international conventions that
deal with counterterrorism and to implement fully the terms of UNSC
1333 and 1373 with respect to blocking terrorists' access to funds.
Events in Washington, at the extraordinary convocation of OAS foreign
ministers on September 21, were an important measure of our support
within the hemisphere. The invocation of the Rio Treaty that same day
and the expressions of solidarity were critical as we energize world
condemnation of terrorism. However, the real measures of the tragedy
of September 11, and the degree to which those events have drawn the
hemisphere together, have played out in churches, squares and plazas
throughout the hemisphere as the Americas grieved the loss of 6,000 of
their fellows. And our hemispheric commitment to confront terrorism
will be demonstrated by the concrete measures we take as sovereign
governments and as a community of governments to arm ourselves against
this worldwide threat.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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