Human Rights Foundation
12th
Sept, 2001
MEDIA RELEASE
The Editor
Dear Sir,
Re : USA Tragedy
The
tragic assault on innocent civilians in the USA must be condemned in the
strongest possible terms . Warfare should be confined to the battlefield. The
perpetrators of this heinous crime should be condemned in the strongest possible
terms . We need a new world order based
on the sanctity of all human life
and not based on George Orwells horrific scenario where some people are deemed
to be ‘more important’ than others. All attacks on civilian life , be it
America or anywhere else in the world should be condemned and abhorred in the
strongest possible terms as follows :
(1)
The loss of innocent civilians in the casualties resulting from the
horrific disaster in the USA , which includes the passengers on the planes as
well as the civilians in the collapsed buildings, should be condemned in the
strongest possible terms
(2)
The loss of innocent civilian lives in Palestine , by attack helicopters
shooting their homes and heavy weapons unleashed on innocent civilians who have
been forcefully removed from their land, should
be condemned in the strongest possible terms
(3)
The loss of innocent Israeli civilian lives by suicide bombers should be
condemned in the strongest possible terms
(4)
The loss of 1 million innocent Iraqi civilians at the receiving end of
80 000 tons of warfare bombarded onto them should be condemned in the strongest
possible terms
(5)
The loss of 4000 Iraqi children, innocent civilians ,
dying every month due to depleted Uranium (outlawed internationally) and
sanctions imposed by the US should be condemned in the strongest possible terms
(6)
The loss of thousands of innocent civilian lives caused by the Hiroshima
nuclear wipeout by the US , should be condemned in the strongest possible terms
(7)
The loss of thousands of innocent civilians in Vietnam and the use of
Agent Orange and other chemical and biological agents whose detrimental
carcinogenic and mutanogenic effects are still evident today, should be
condemned in the strongest possible terms
(8)
The use of cluster bombs which do not discriminate between civilian and
non-civilian targets , should be condemned in the strongest possible terms
(9)
The loss of thousands of innocent civilians , mainly children ,dying
daily due to starvation in Africa and other Highly Indebted Developing Countries
of the world , should be condemned in the strongest possible terms
(10)
Terrorism in all its vile forms should be condemned in the strongest
possible terms. However , terrorism is a symptom of other issues which have to
be addressed and not ignored. What would drive a person to such a stage of
helplessness and frustration that the only option available is to commit such a
horrific crime and thus also kill himself in the process , when it is better to
die than to live. Some terrorists only want money- these are the scum and vermin
of the earth. Others, only want freedom- they need our sympathy and
understanding because no one is listening to their plight and suffering at the
hands of oppressors and they therefore have to resort to these spectacular ,
unthinkable acts to force the attention of the world to their plight..
The majority of Parliamentarians in South Africa were labeled
‘terrorists’ by their oppressors, but in the eyes of their people , they
were ‘freedom fighters” and heroes. If the former ‘white ‘ oppressors
resorted to exterminate all these ANC ‘terrorists’ by brute force , there
would have been anarchy and all out war. However , level heads and skilled
negotiations won the day.
(11)
We need a new world order based on the sanctity for human life, based on
the notion that all men are created equal and that a non-American citizen is no
more and no less equal than an American Citizen.
(12)
America’s plan to saturate the world with weapons of mass destruction
, more sophisticated weaponry to use warfare as a tool to solve problems or
force nations into submission by brute force alone, is a short sighted plan that
will backfire. In contrast , the principles of negotiation and discussion ,
justice and fairplay without favoritism nor discrimination , respect for the
dignity, sacredness respect for all
human life , should be the tools that should be utilized to solve the worlds
problems. In the words of Benjamin Franklin ,”jaw-jaw” is better than
“war-war.”
(13)
In this moment of horror , anger , shock and calls for revenge , cool
and level headed thinking is required. There will be many scapegoats and knee
jerk reactions . There will be a lot of finger pointing and jumping to
conclusions .What we need , when the dust settles, is a deep , sincere
introspection, by all individuals, leaders , heads of state and governments , to
formulate a code of conduct for all
humanity so that peace prevails on this earth .
(14)
There will always be fanatics in this world. There will always be Jews,
Christians and Muslims , who will commit acts in the name of religion. One
should not condemn a nation or a religion or a country on the basis of the
actions of a few individuals . Generalizations breed hatred . It detracts from
our humanity. Intellectual thinking should prevail over emotional partisan
loyalty.
(15)
All humans should pray for all innocent civilians who have died . May
Almighty God, give patience to the families of victims and may He grant the
Wisdom of Solomon to our leaders to act with compassion , justice and fairness
to solve the problems of this world , thus restoring our dignity as humans.
Thank you
Dr Ahmed Adam
Vice Chairman : Human Rights Foundation
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