EAPC'S Role in the International Fight Against Terrorism
Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Slovenia, Dr Dimitrij Rupel, at the Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council at the level of Foreign Ministers Reykjavik, 15
May 2002
Ljubljana, 13 May 2002
The problem of terrorism has been put on our agenda and we should
discuss it with great attention, but we must not neglect the other
very important issues of this meeting.
The ultimate goal of the anti-terrorist coalition is to preserve or
establish peace, security and stability. This means to defend and
strengthen the systems of international regulation and cooperation in
such a way, that all diversities, problems and conflicts would be
resolved in a rational political way. For this purpose, first, the
"terrorist forces" have to be properly identified, isolated
and confronted in an unambiguous manner. If necessary, strong
repressive measures have to be adopted, while in any
"confrontation", highest legal (UN, OSCE, EAPC...) standards
have to be respected.
Here, we are speaking about the process and the procedures of
exclusion of terrorists. Let me, at this point, emphasize, that a
fight against terrorism should in no way be used as an instrument of
settlement of internal or international political conflicts.
On the other hand, a political, social, cultural or
economic... exclusion is at the bottom of the problems (ab)used
by terrorists as an excuse for their violence. Exclusion is,
still today, an undeniable fact of internal, but also international
relations, and it manifests itself in discriminatory policies, lack of
tangible economic interest, in relaxed moral attitudes or sheer
ignorance.
The international community and especially the EAPC are confronted
with a complex task of exclusion (of terrorists), accompanied
with an affirmative action of inclusion of the groups and
societies threatened by terrorist subversion into projects of
international assistance and cooperation.
We are facing numerous tasks: we should all be educated and
reeducated in the spirit of ethnic, ideological and religious
tolerance. Then, we should develop a political "rapid reaction
force" for an early detection of terrorist related phenomena; and
a well studied concept of inclusive action to be administered
in critical moments and places.
Even if this sounds a little out of place, I should propose a
political and cultural mobilization of the EAPC. It is
sometimes easier to resort to "hardware" solutions, but at
the present stage of social sciences in the Western world - in the
area represented by the EAPC - we should no longer hesitate to
organize as wide-spread as possible a network of diversity-management-
and social-economic-opportunity- projects and missions to the
terrorist-abuse-threatening critical spots.
Partnership between NATO and partner countries can and will only
gain importance in building stability and security if we are ready to
share information and consult on important decisions. New forms of
cooperation have to emerge among the Allies, between the Allies and
Partners, and among Partners themselves. We should not fear
discussions with certain regions or even discussions tackling
sensitive issues. There is no real partnership without addressing the
right questions and without sharing views, or even fears and different
opinions.
The past of the Partnership is a proof that there is a great
potential yet to be used. I believe that the Partnership between NATO
and partner countries represents one of the most convincing steps
towards a broader international security network. In my opinion, the
chances to build such a network are significant. One reason is the
fact that the Russian Federation is becoming closer to the Alliance,
as seen in the most recent initiatives and meetings. This month's
meeting in Rome and November's Prague Summit will convey the strongest
assertion of this. Slovenia positively values the new arrangements in
relations between NATO and Russia. That will undoubtedly contribute to
the cooperation and stability in Europe.
Various regional initiatives have been launched. Slovenia has
joined these initiatives. In addition we will organize an
international conference on "Combating International Terrorism at
National and Regional Levels" in September this year. We are
looking foreward for a large participation in this event which could
be yet another opportunity to develop our common struggle for peace
and security.
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