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THE WORLD NEEDS EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH APPROPRIATE MECHANISMS
At the 47th annual meeting of the Atlantic Treaty Assosiation
Bled, 4 October 2001
DRAFT TRANSLATION! Distinguished NATO Deputy Secretary General Mr. Rizzo,
Ministers from NATO membership candidate countries,
President of the Association Mr Alan Lee Williams,
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all I would like to offer all of the participants at this meeting of the Atlantic Treaty Association a most sincere welcome, along with the wish that your stay in Slovenia will be as pleasant as possible. Your annual meeting stands out as a distinguished and influential international event. And the selection of Slovenia for this year’s meeting of the Association brings us great pleasure. It represents for us a powerful new stimulus towards self-confident and responsible cooperation in projects of the North Atlantic Alliance.
This latest meeting is taking place in extraordinary international circumstances, demanding from us responsible and sober consideration. The recent black Tuesday in New York and Washington has shaken the world. We were all shocked by that senseless, criminal act. I trust you will join me in offering our respects to all the innocent victims, and once more share in the expression of utmost sympathy for the people of America and its leaders.
At this time of tragedy there is an urgent need for sincere human, political and functional solidarity with the USA and its citizens. And this should also be expressed in concrete resources and actions in agreed common projects.
We must make absolutely clear our position that we will not give in to terrorism; and that we not only condemn it, but will also fight against it. We will fight against it with deliberation and determination – so that society will not be ruled by increased and uncontrolled aggression. Such aggression would threaten the fundamental values and principles that humankind has developed and established through its history as the yardstick of a common existence, in order that a tolerant life in human society and the development of that society are made possible.
I have no doubt that we all see this terrorist act as an act against democracy. And we therefore see the fight against terrorism as a fight for democracy, for freedom of the individual, for human dignity, rights and security. The means required for an effective fight against this evil must strengthen democracy, and protect the freedom of the individual and nations and the rule of law for all people. They must be used against the perpetrators and organisers of terrorist acts, against regimes, political groups and movements which support or initiate terrorism. The fight against terrorism is not a fight against civilisations, cultures and nations or a fight between them, it is a fight for the civilisation of this world, a fight for the values which should prevail in it. We will do everything to ensure that the instigators, perpetrators and organisers of these acts are brought to justice. And let us make available all the appropriate means at our disposal, let us establish and strengthen the necessary coordination between the competent services and ensure the necessary exchange of information. The fight against international terrorism demands united and coordinated operations and actions of democratic countries. Terrorism must be made to realise that it is standing before an impenetrable wall of opposition, and that there is no country that would permit, facilitate, conceal, encourage or use it. Such a broad coalition is possible because in this modern and otherwise diverse world, all civilisations, all cultures and religions respect the dignity of the human person and his or her life. Killing, especially the killing of innocent people, is wrong across the entire world. Determined common action and our vigilance must be directed against those groups and individuals across the world that brutally violate these principles and bring into our human world chaos, murder and madness. The fight against terrorism is a fight for the kind of world where there will be more peace, freedom, solidarity, security for each person and for all nations, greater social justice and increasingly less space for aggression. There is no doubt exactly where Slovenia stands and what kind of position it holds in this fight.
I believe that our thoughts are now focused on the question of how we can effectively resist international terrorism and halt its senseless and ruinous advance.
And I have no doubt in our common conviction, despite the urgency of our common task, that we will also have to face this evil over the longer term, and that merely one battle against terrorism will not be enough. This is also a reflection of the kind of contradictions inherent in the modern world and it is a phenomenon that weighs on all societies. There is also an urgent need to remove the social, political and other roots of this evil, those contradictions that provide a breeding ground which is exploited and which is manipulated by the organisers of terrorist acts. We must also know that in many places, human social and political pathology has exploited these contradictions and transformed the killing of innocent people into a profitable business, giving to the work of international terrorism its own internal dynamic. This must be most resolutely resisted.
International terrorism is a phenomenon of the globalised world. And the struggle with it, as with many other modern phenomena (environmental and political), convinces us that the globalised world demands globalised responsibility, which begins with the responsibility of each country; just as it demands globalised management. Democracy is under threat. In my opinion the crisis for democracy in the world such as it is can only be surmounted if democracy is globalised, that is, if the process of globalisation is democratised.
A new global political balance must be established. This is now even clearer than it was at the end of the bipolar bloc division of the world. Political crisis areas cannot be ghettoised. In each one there is a latent possibility of it growing into a global political crisis of greater or smaller dimensions and severity. The same holds true for the crisis in south-eastern Europe. For a long time now this has been a European and world problem, and not just a regional issue.
The world needs effective international political associations with appropriate mechanisms. This is one more reason for a critical reassessment of the future of the United Nations and its radical reforms, and also for a reassessment of the need for and image of an integrated, democratic and undivided Europe. Our continent must be capable of assuming the role of one of the fundamental factors for peace, prosperity, solidarity and stability in the globalised world. The North Atlantic Alliance is without doubt our natural champion of peace and security, guaranteeing the protection of democracy in such a Europe and rendering it capable of playing such a role in the world. For this reason its enlargement and adaptation to the new circumstances in the world are in the deepest interest of the Alliance itself, as well as of Europe and of world peace and security.
Slovenia wishes to play an even more prominent part in such a Europe, and to assume its proper share of responsibility in this. We are therefore fully determined to fulfil the criteria demanded for entry into NATO. We are not blind to our own weaknesses. We are aware that much effort is needed, hard work and also greater financial resources for defence. We also know that there are things which cannot be given a price in money. The values of democracy and principles of ethics demand other criteria of measurement. We are convinced that upon the fulfilment of the necessary conditions, the strategic advantages held by Slovenia will increase greatly in value within NATO, even though these advantages are already recognisable now when Slovenia is an active member of the Partnership for Peace.
A lively debate has been going on in Slovenia for some time now in connection with the enlargement of NATO and its incorporation of Slovenia. This is entirely understandable and legitimate, since it involves a historic decision that demands thorough consideration and an open debate. Within this we need to make clear the role of NATO in the changed world and to move beyond the historical burdens inherited from the former polarised, ideologically and politically divided world. This will be a proper debate, an opportunity to generate favourably disposed public opinion and not simply an emotional or pragmatic division into supporters and opponents of membership. And there is no doubt that the tragic events in the USA will bring to this debate a greater awareness among citizens of the importance of security for the wellbeing and further development of our country and the world in which we live, and of the importance for this security held by the NATO security system.
The Atlantic Treaty Association plays an important role in linking civil society institutions both in the member states and in the candidate and partner countries, promoting a democratic society founded on the values of a state based on the rule of law, the rule of human rights and social justice. NATO, which in its time presented primarily a symbol of military strength, is changing into a symbol of security and understanding of the gains of democratic development, and in this way into a part of global security. I am convinced that alongside an anti-terrorist alliance of countries there has now come the time for a global anti-terrorist democratic civil movement, a movement for a better world, which will be able to face up all global issues with due deliberation; a movement that will not just point the finger and protest, but which will seek solutions and apply them to assist in managing the world. In this I also see an important role for national Atlantic councils and associations. I wish you every success in your work at this year's meeting of your Association in Slovenia, here in Bled.
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