A Civil Society Dialogue on September 11th
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development. Copyright © 2002 Society for International Development. SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi), 1011-6370 (200206) 45:2; 109–112; 024401. NB When citing this article please use both volume and issue numbers.
Local/Global Encounters
A Civil Society Dialogue on September 11th1 Demonization of the Other is not a sufficient basis for any kind of decent politics, certainly now when the roots of terror in injustice can be addressed, and the terrorists isolated, deterred or put out of business. It takes patience and education, but is more worth the investment than still greater levels of large-scale violence and suffering. . . . No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents, most particularly when only a small group of people are in charge of such actions and feel themselves to represent the cause without having a real mandate to do so. (Edward Said)
The dialogue on peace, social justice and human rights is clearly still open, and invites further participation and involvement. Here is a selection of quotes from the hundreds of voices from civil society networks. ActionAid While emotions are running high, we urge restraint on the part of political leaders. Leaders must not act in haste, unilaterally or indiscriminately. We call for a strong commitment to human rights, international law and humanitarian principles in any actions that are taken. The memory of those who lost their lives can best be honoured by justice, not revenge, by the pursuit of peace, not the waging of war in which many more innocent victims would suffer. We feel strongly that there is no purely military solution to the kinds of acts that we saw. . . . Indeed, the blunt instrument of war may further intensify a cycle of violence and attract new recruits to terror. Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA) . . . The US–British air strike on Afghanistan beginning October 7th signals death and destruction and only condemns more and more people to a life of terror and hatred. The self-righteousness of the belligerent USA and its northern allies, in assuming the right to determine the life and death of others in the pursuit of their questionable objectives, is deplorable. The actions of leaders such as those from Britain, France, Germany and other nations, who support the USA drive to assert its powers through war and terror, and attempt to confer it with a facade of legitimacy, are also unacceptable. It is unfortunate, too, that
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development 45(2): Local/Global Encounters the UN, quick to react to the September 11th tragedy, has, however, failed once again to uphold its role as international peacebroker. The manner in which this war is being waged, as well as the context and the profound consequences it will surely have, leave no doubt as to what this war is about. What it is all about is not so much the question of justice for the victims of the September 11th tragedy but the re-assertion and reco
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