UN Strikes Back

by anne o' holbein - (ah go on! it's me!) [ah go on! it's us] (consistency is our virtue) Sat Mar 12, 2005 16:06

which was held this week in Madrid. Its closing ceremony saw a memorial garden of trees opened by the King and Queen, President of the government Zapatero, Kofi Anan the King of Morocco, and all the leaders of opposition and many other international government from North africa to Afghanistan to the USA in the form of Madaleine Albright and Bill Clinton.
The so-called "madrid agenda" seeks unity in the fact of terror by understanding its multiple causes, and the absolute neccesity to not endanger democracy or emergent democracy by any means deemed to be in the interest of "counter terror". After many submissions, many opinions were expressed on the very complex problems faced the states both of the developed world, and the under-developed world, by those whose citizens favour in majority forms of religious authoritarian society and those who have clearly chosen secular options. One conclusion which was drawn was the futility of attempting to "imposing democracy" of the occidental model. States and peoples move to democratic values more often than not through trauma, but also by consistent development of human and civil rights, and social and cultural education. The states of the more developed democracies must assist the peoples of non democratic states in their legitimate wishes for democracy, but can not impose such.

Security covers many differing areas of concern in our globalised world, but can not only be thought of as meaning increased military or police acitivity alone. It must have a cultural dimension and the potential for occidental culture to provoke confrontational responses in other societies which under certain conditions provide the ground conditions for the emergence of those who commit terrorist acts must be further explored and considered. At no stage may the security forces of a democratic state be allowed to consider that they and they alone are responsible for the security of their nation or people.

Terrorism as a means of achieving political aims by use of terror or paramilitary activity against either a state structure or a civilian population has clearly changed in mass psychological effect at both ends of the spectrum the communities attacked and the communities blamed with providing attackers. Terror begets terror, and we can never underestimate the gravity of the error of responding beligerently to any community or nation in response to a terrorist attack. However neither can we underestimate the good will from all communities to consider cultural and democratic responses to acts of terror or attempts to recruit to terrorist entities. There has consistently been a clear link between terrorist organisational structures in a globalised or trans-national context and the perpetuation of criminal activity which is itself trans-national.

Communality of purpose in ending terrorism must neccesitate communality of purpose in ending the conditions that allow for terrorism to emerge as either viable options of acheiving political change, or in effecting mass psychological damage on communities _at either end of the perceived spectrum_ . Such communality means a renewed and unceasing determination to foster the values at root of democratic traditions (not only those of the occident) and consistent upholding of the international Human Rights charters and standards and the re-affirmation of the proper institutions of arbitration and conflict resolution and due criminal process against the authors of terror.

In short, -
terrorism is organised crime.
"Together we can crack it".








The conference will be held again in 2006 in Madrid at the same time.