The Hindu : Terrorism fuelled by religious extremism to blame: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2002

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Terrorism fuelled by religious extremism to blame: PM

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI Nov. 11. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today called upon human rights institutions to recognise the truth that the single greatest enemy of human rights "is terrorism fuelled by religious extremism'' and "it strikes at innocent lives.''

Inaugurating a three-day meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights institutions here, Mr. Vajpayee said that such terrorism "targets the symbols of our freedoms.''

The meeting hosted by the National Human Rights Commission was co-sponsored by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Forum comprising Human Rights Commissions of Australia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Mr. Vajpayee said the debate on human rights either in the global context, or in the context of the Asia-Pacific region, would be grievously incomplete without serious consideration of the threat posed by terrorism. "All forms of terrorism are dangerous, but the one that is inspired by religious extremism is especially lethal,'' he added.

Referring to the deprivation of human rights to terrorists and the protests voiced by human rights institutions, the Prime Minister said "we have sometimes to take tough decisions— even infringing some of our freedoms and abridging some of our human rights temporarily— to firmly counter terrorism, so that our future generations can live in peace and harmony.''

In an obvious reference to Pakistan justifying the killing of innocent men, women and children as "freedom struggle,'' Mr. Vajpayee said in the past two decades, nearly 60,000 people had been killed in acts of terrorism in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere and "it baffles us.''

He pointed out that the U.N. resolution had rejected justification of terrorism for whatever consideration— political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic or religious.

Seeking the cooperation of all nations to fight terrorism, the Prime Minister said "it is incumbent on all the nations in our region and around the world to join hands to fight the menace of international terrorism.''

He was of the view that "respect for all faiths and protection of pluralism should be recognised as an obligation for all countries in the world. This obligation cannot be fulfilled merely by proclamations, declarations and acceptance of the U.N. resolutions. Our actions and cooperation at the national, global and regional levels must match the threat posed by international terrorism and religious extremism.''

Mr. Vajpayee said "human rights are no doubt a lofty concept'' but at the same time he reminded the nations that "we live in an imperfect world and this reality imposes practical difficulties in living by the ideal standards of human rights.'' He lamented that those who take a narrow and non-historical view of the matter often distorted the debate on human rights.

In his opening remarks, the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Justice J.S. Verma, said the evil acts of terrorism and its threat had vitiated the atmosphere and had made the promotion and protection of human rights more difficult and complex.

He said "in such an environment, harsh and sometimes intemperate voices have been raised propounding the view that the defence of human rights wittingly or unwittingly, weakens the State and furthers the purpose of terrorists.''

Mr. Justice Verma reiterated that the defence of human rights "is not something unrealistic and weak-minded undertaking of those who lack the courage to stand-up for the defence of their country or the principles that it holds dear.''

The Special Adviser to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Brian Burdekin, in his address lauded the efforts of India in protecting human rights of its citizens.

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