President Mesic spoke before the UN General Assembly

 

• Mesic: “It is not enough to defeat the terrorists, but we have to change the world in which it is born too. No matter if it is hidden behind the ideology, religion or fight for freedom , terrorism is absolutely unacceptable", said the Croatian President, adding that the forming of the anti-terrorist coalition represents the beginning of deep and far-reaching changes on global politics.

 

UN, Nov 11, 2001 – In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on 11 November 2001, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic confirmed Croatia’s devotion to the goals of the international anti-terrorist coalition but also warned that the roots and causes of terrorism in the world needed to be removed.

 

“It is not enough to defeat the terrorists we are faced with today. We have to do everything we can to make sure that we shall not be dealing with new terrorists tomorrow”, Mesic said.

 

“It will not be difficult to encourage fanatic behavior not only in individuals, but also in large groups of people, thus turning them into ruthless killers – terrorists, as long as famine, poverty and non development are present in large parts of the world, as long as people suffer from inequality and absence of freedom as a result of unresolved regional crises anywhere in the world”, Croatian head of state said.

 

“There is no justified or unjustified terrorism. It is in the nature of terrorism regardless of whether it is masked by an ideology, religion or a liberalization war, to kill innocent people – the more, the better. Terrorism is therefore absolutely unacceptable, and this is why we are fighting it today.”

 

The first big war of the 21^st century is not a clash of cultures or a conflict of religions, but a confrontation of civilization and non civilization, the Croatian president stressed.

 

He believes that the establishment of the global anti-terrorist coalition, which he compares with the anti-fascist coalition from World War II, represents the beginning of deep and far reaching changes on the world political scene. “I am speaking about changes in relations between countries or groups of countries, and the changes in the nature and way of functioning of international alliances, such as NATO for example, as well as international organizations, both the existing ones, such as UN, and the ones which are just emerging, the permanent court for war crimes being one example,” Mesic said.

 

In his closing words, Mesic said he would like the UN General Assembly session to reaffirm this world organization as an irreplaceable instrument in the struggle for a different and better world.
 “Terrorists have used airplanes full of passengers to kill thousands of people on September 11. Next time they might use chemical or biological or even a nuclear weapon, to kill hundreds of thousands of people. UN is an organization created to preserve future generations from the horrors of war. There is no time to spare. Let’s change the world we live in so we can continue living.”