Use the U.N. in fight against terrorism: Annan

UNITED NATIONS, SEPT. 24. Calling the September 11 attacks against the United States deliberate, heartless and malicious, the U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan told 189 countries today to use the U.N. for a ``long-term struggle against terrorism.''

In the short-term, he said in a major address to the U.N. General Assembly, no effort should be spared to bring the perpetrators of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon to justice. But he pleaded for the rule of law, national and international, ``that all can understand and accept.'' ``Let us uphold our own principles and standards, so that we can make the difference unmistakable, for all the world to see, between those who resort to terrorism and those who fight against it.''

He had planned to talk of new priorities for the world body in his speech to the General Assembly, which only two weeks ago was to be filled with world leaders for its annual debate. Instead, the session was called off because of the attacks and Mr. Annan spoke to a low-level meeting of Ambassadors except for the visiting Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov.

``Thirteen days ago - on a day none of us is likely ever to forget - our host country, and our beloved host city, were struck by a blow so deliberate, yet so heartless, malicious and destructive, that we are still struggling to grasp its enormity,'' Mr. Annan said. ``In truth, this was a blow not against one city or one country, but against every one of us,'' he said, noting that the victims at the World Trade Center in New York came from more than 60 countries, including his own, Ghana.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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