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Adopting a constructive approach

One heart -warming feature of the terrible tragedy experienced by the US is the tremendous sympathy and kindness the rest of the world almost, is lavishing on the victims of the carnage and those affected by it. The humanitarian assistance offered by countries and peoples to the US in this hour of grave crisis, irrespective of political, religious, cultural and geographical barriers, is a sound yardstick of the degree to which the world has humanised itself - some incurable terrorists notwithstanding.

This widespread and inherent humanity needs to be appreciated and reflected on because they provide the hope for a better tomorrow for the whole of mankind. This irrepressible humanity is proof that a new world order more befitting humankind could yet be forged through a collective effort of peoples everywhere. This is something the world's major powers need to ponder on.

The immense sympathy showered on the people of the USA in this their hour of need is sure proof that the designs of terrorists the world over have already been defeated. In this opinion climate, the political and psychological victories hoped for by terrorists and those who pin their hopes on violence would never materialize.

However, great caution needs to be exercised in reacting to the policy and practice of violence of the lunatic fringe. What needs to be guarded against now is a spiral of violence which would sow more and more misery, bloodshed and instability rather than bring to an end the terror of the desperate few. The US reaction of declaring itself to be at war with the terrorists responsible for Tuesday's devastation is understandable but the possibility of a spiral of violence flowing from this policy should prompt a rethink of this stance.

The mutually - reinforcing nature of wars of attrition are only too familiar to those countries enveloped by internal strife. This is a glaring truth which we in Sri Lanka, for instance, would hardly deny. This is the main reason why the Government of Sri Lanka has opted for a negotiated settlement of the ethnic issue.

States need to ponder deeply on how grievances of disaffected groups could best be addressed. It was World War II and its tragic consequences which prompted the states of the world to moot and implement the United Nations concept. The UNO is living proof of the willingness of peoples everywhere to pool their hearts, minds and material resources to reduce the possibility of international and internal conflicts. They have succeeded to a considerable degree in this great endeavour.

These lessons of the past should compel major powers, such as the US, to take a second look at the policy instruments at their disposal in moments of conflict and crisis.

Violence grows out of specific objective conditions. It should be the aim of the international community to ameliorate these conditions. It is also necessary to enter into a constructive dialogue with those prone to violence because it is undisputed now that some take to violence when their grievances, real or otherwise, go unheeded. Adopting such approaches to conflict resolution would prove cost-effective - both in terms of men and material.

• Editorial of  The Observer - Acts of War  13.9.2001:
  

• Voice of the Sinhala and Tamil Media
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