SPAIN-BRITAIN: Not Quite Eye to Eye on Terrorism

By Tito Drago Reprint | | Print |

Tito Drago

MADRID, Jul 27 2005 (IPS) - British Prime Minster Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero agreed Wednesday to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, although their policies do not completely coincide.

Blair expressed his support for the "alliance of civilisations" proposed by Zapatero to tackle the problem of terrorism at a global level.

But there are discrepancies between the two leaders regarding the methods for dealing with terrorism, especially when it comes to the question of respect for human rights.

Zapatero stressed that efforts against terrorism must be carried out without breaking any laws or violating human rights.

The British leader, on the other hand, justified incidents like the recent killing of Brazilian immigrant Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot to death on Jul. 22 in a London underground station by British police who suspected him of being a suicide bomber.

In a joint news briefing offered by the two leaders in London, Zapatero said he did not agree with recent remarks by the president of Spain’s judiciary council, Francisco José Hernando, who justified the "shoot-to-kill" orders given to the British police in cases of suspected suicide bombers.

Hernando said the international community is facing the "third world war: the fight against terrorism."

After clarifying that he is against the death penalty, Hernando added that sometimes it is necessary in order to avoid a greater risk, such as a terrorist attack, which could involve the death of many innocent people.

Zapatero criticised that position, saying the fight against terrorism is not a conventional war, and thus requires different methods.

A few hours later, in Madrid, ruling socialist party whip Diego López Garrido said he was shocked when he heard Hernando "justifying the shooting of an innocent person" and called the high-level judicial official "a champion of the shot to the head."

With the exception of the main opposition party, the centre-right Popular Party, the rest of Spain’s political forces criticised Hernando’s statements, which also drew fire from jurists and judges, including the organisation Judges for Democracy.

Blair not only expressed his support for the alliance of civilisations but also confirmed that he would attend the Nov. 27-28 Euro-Mediterranean Summit to be held in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona.

The summit will be attended by heads of state and government from Europe and the Arab world, who will discuss development aid and cooperation and efforts towards peace – the central focus of the proposed alliance.

Zapatero suggested the creation of an alliance of civilisations at the September 2004 United Nations General Assembly. Two months later the initiative received the backing of the leaders of the 23 countries taking part in the Ibero-American Summit in Costa Rica.

Spain’s socialist prime minister has stated in the past that "You can’t fight terrorism the way you fight a war…Terrorism is like the plague. It cannot be justified. As with the plague, however, we have to analyse which approach is most effective. Naturally, we cannot defeat terrorists with missiles."

Referring to his meeting with Zapatero, Blair said Wednesday that "We discussed the proposal that the Spanish prime minister has made for what he calls an alliance of civilisations, which is the idea that we join together, our countries with Muslim countries…to form a coalition of civilised people from whatever race or religion to combat the barbarity of terrorism."

With respect to how to confront the challenge of terrorism, former Portuguese president Mario Soares (1986-1996) says true democracy is the best and most efficacious weapon against terrorism.

Soares said the definition of terrorism must cover criminal acts committed as part of "state terrorism" and "certain murders committed by secret agents and mercenaries at the service of organised states which nevertheless claim to respect the rule of law."

As an example he cited the techniques employed by Israel against Palestinians and recalled the bombing of cities by both sides during World War II and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as genocide committed in Africa both during and after the colonial period.

Soares also underlines that in the fight against terrorism, care must be taken not to hurt Islam and sow hatred and resentment among Muslims who themselves condemn and combat terrorism.

European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner also defended basic freedoms in an article published Wednesday in the Madrid daily El Mundo.

Efforts against terrorism cannot be carried out at the expense of human rights and fundamental freedoms, she said, because doing so will cause more harm than good, as well as undermining our most precious values.

For that reason, she argued, the task is to eliminate the reasons that more and more people are becoming radicalised and turning to extremist violence.

It is likely that terrorism will never be completely eradicated, but it is possible to weaken its followers and dismantle its recruitment structures by fighting poverty in the world, added Ferrero-Waldner.

Violations of human rights under the argument of fighting terrorism has gone so far as to outsource torture, noted socialist European Parliament Deputy Emilio Menéndez del Valle.

He was referring to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s policy of "extraordinary rendition" of terror suspects for "interrogation" in other countries, often in the Arab world, where torture is systematically used.