TEXT OF THE SPEECH OF SHRI G.KISHAN REDDY, PRESIDENT, BJYM ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE ON TERRORISM – GLOBAL DIALOGE FOR PEACE, 10-11 FEBRUARY, 2003 AT VIGYAN BHAWAN, NEW DELHI.

Great Statesman and the most beloved Prime Minister of India, Respected Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, President, Bharatiya Janata Party – Respected Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, Respected Mr. Feodor Starcevic, U.N. Observer for this International Youth Conference on Terrorism, Excellency High Commissioners and Ambassadors, my dear brothers & sisters - foreign delegates who have come from the nooks and corners of the world, delegates of India guests, dignitaries, members of media, ladies and gentleman, A very good morning.

On behalf of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, on behalf of the people of India, the youth of this nation, and on my own behalf, it is my privilege and pleasure to extend a hearty welcome to all of you.

10th February will go into history as a significant milestone, a vital milestone which is going to change the direction of the world. I can gaze the glow and resolve in your faces, to give direction to the world, to lead from turbulence to tranquility, from despair to hope, from destruction to construction, from darkness to light.

Never before in the history, youth of the world, from so many countries, assembled at one place, to share a global concern, to fight terrorism. In fact we have youth representatives here who have come cutting across cultures and continents.

We are very fortunate that we have the UN Observer here who will convey the aspirations of the international youth to the UN.

I thank Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of UN, for deputing a special observer.

Today, from this historical city of New Delhi, the collective might of youth should speak in one voice - cry halt to violence.

In fact, terrorism has been haunting this world for many years but as you are aware, the scale of violence and frequency of strikes have increased in the recent past. The brutal attack on WTC in September 2001, the attack on Indian Parliament House in December 2001, on Akshardham Temple in Gujarat, India, the attack in Bali Island of Indonesia, the attack on Russian Theater are other examples of terrorism, which the world witnessed in the recent past. Terrorism itself has become a complex global phenomenon. Terrorism has become a social, political, economic and psychological evil disrupting human life.

India has been facing this problem for almost three decades. In Jammu & Kashmir in India, for example, one aspect of global terrorism – the state sponsored and supported cross border terrorism – has been destroying the peace of the state. Friends, you will be amazed to know that more than three lakhs of Kashmiris have been living in make-shift camps for years as they have been displaced from their homes, from their livelihood. Sad, they became refugees in their own country. Terrorism in any from is a crime against humanity. Terrorism is the enemy of development. Terrorism is against democracy.

Terrorism is against youth. It is against women and children. It is against civilization. Terrorism is against a peaceful world order. It is a threat to harmonious peaceful living of humanity.

Terrorism promotes unrest in society and this unrest, in turn, becomes the breeding ground. Terrorism tries to impose its political, economic, social and religious views through means of oppression, threat or use of force against democratically expressed will of the people.

There can be questions why youth should organize a conference on terrorism. Youth are essentially the victims of terrorism. Youth have tremendous power. Youth symbolize energy, strength, dynamism. We can do any thing. We can do every thing. The tender emotions of the youth are exploited by the terrorist groups. On the other hand, because of the troublesome atmosphere, youth lose opportunities of growth. Therefore, from both the ends youth become victims of terrorist violence. But then, youth alone can save the world from the clutches of crisis, fear and terror. They have zeal, dynamism and will power to transform anything. What all they require is proper direction. I am confident that the collective exercise of this conference will evolve that direction.

In the recent years terrorist activities have created adverse impact on employment. Industries like airline, tourism and service sectors are among the worst affected. As per the ILO report, the slump in air cargo for Asia dropped by 35 percent, in the United States by 21 percent and in Europe by 11 percent. In 2001, 6.6 million jobs were lost in tourism industry due to the impact of terrorism. These details are just tips of iceberg which demonstrate the adverse impact of terrorism on employment opportunities.

An analysis of the international researchers and the surveys conducted by the UN reveal that the average age of the terrorist is 24. However, the leaders of the militants groups are always 30 plus, which means those who perform action are essentially young people. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) investigations show that more than 300,000 children are recruited in conflicts in South East Asia and are subjected to terrible physical and psychological abuse. The youth, many a time, are recruited at gun-point and grow up under conditions of extreme cruelty to become violators of law. It is inhuman and brutal that young and men & women, our brothers and sisters are used as suicide bombs.

The seminal objective of this youth conference is to provide a common platform for the youth of the world to come together, to deliberate issues concerning terrorism, exchange ideas and come to a consensus. A consensus on an issue like terrorism is vital.

We must realize that, of late, terrorists and organized criminals have joined hands, exchanging technologies, sharing information-inputs, because for terrorist and criminals the common ground is exploitation of the human. The increase in quantity and diversity of terrorist acts and their links with organized crime pose a serious threat to global security.

The Youth of the World have to act now because youth are the future leaders of the world. If we do not act now, future generations will not forgive us. Should we leave the legacy of violence or peace for future? When terrorism is a systematically organized international activity, when terrorism is no longer a spontaneous outburst of violence, but a consolidated movement aided by technical support, when terrorism is state sponsored to shake the foundations of trust and cooperation, isolated anti-terrorist operations will not be able to counter the effects of terrorist activities.

Therefore, there is a need to develop closely and efficiently organized counter systems, evolve an international policy for tackling terrorism and spread and sustain a global movement for peace.

Terrorism takes different shapes and wears different guises. Religion or ideology is only a pretext, a pretext to continue exploitation, a pretext to kill innocents, a pretext for gender abuse a pretext to quench their blood thirst, a pretext to realize their power pursuits that people should toe their line whether they like it or not.

Terrorists target all those people who talk of democracy and peoples’ will. It is also important in this context to understand and analyze how terrorists are able to mobilize massive resources of every kind. We must identify those sources and work fast to hit their financial, technological backbones, no matter who they are. They are the enemies of humanity.

Terrorism has no considerations of religion, race, caste or creed. Today, in this conference we have people from all religions, all cultures, all walks of life. What brings us together ?

It is the religion of humanity. It is the religion of universal brother-hood. It is the religion of peace and It is the religion of mutual love and affection.

We have a responsibility as youth to teach people the essential message of all religions, the message of love and the message of peaceful co-existence. From this forum today, let us make it clear, that youth of the world united, will not allow the terrorists to continue their designs, to carryout their action plans, either in the name of religion or some misconceived ideology. No ideology or religion preaches killing of human beings.

We are here to initiate global dialogue for peace. Terrorists wherever they are should understand the message. We appeal to them to transform themselves, shed violence and join the main stream of life. The youth of the world will not spare any attempt by terrorists to intimidate or terrorise people by means of violence. We just made the beginning and we will continue our effort and the collective strength of the youth of the world will uproot terrorism.

I call upon all the delegates to involve themselves seriously in the conference, discuss, debate, exchange views, but at the end of the day come up with constructive solutions and viable action plan. The entire world is looking at us because this is the first International Youth Conference on Terrorism. They have hope in us and we should not let them down.

I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister for accepting to inaugurate the international conference. We are looking forward to his message which will set the tone for the conference.

I thank all the heads of the nations for sending messages for the conference. I also thank Mr.Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of UN, for his inspiring message. I thank the Union Ministers who have extended cooperation for the success of the conference. I thank all the High Commissioners, Ambassadors and Diplomats based at Delhi. I thank the officials of Ministry of External Affairs. I thank all the political parties in India for supporting us. There are a number of people, dignitaries who have silently helped us in our endeavour. I thank all of them.

I wish you a fruitful and successful session here in Delhi and I wish you a comfortable stay.

Thank you,

VANDE MATHARAM
JAI HIND