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Tutu: Deal with poverty first
28/11/2005 22:07 - (SA)
Palma - The world must first overcome poverty and disease before it can hope to deal with terrorism, says Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Monday.
Tutu and about 20 experts gathered for the first meeting of the United Nations-sponsored Alliance of Civilisations.
Tutu said: "I think we can never hope to overcome terrorism until we deal with its root causes, which are poverty and disease.
"Being humiliated, being marginalised, when people feel they are powerless ... it doesn't matter what colour your skin is, when dignity is trampled under foot you want a way to restore it and I, myself, think ultimately good will prevail."
Tutu was one of a score of religious, political and cultural experts gathered since Sunday in the Mallorca island capital, Palma, to begin work on drawing up a list of concrete proposals for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan by the end of 2006 on actions to counter extremism and promote mutual respect between civilisations and cultures.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero presented the alliance idea before the UN general assembly in September 2004 as a way to overcome misunderstandings between the West and the Arab and Muslim world and thus combat terrorism.
Turkey later became a co-sponsor of the project, which had since been endorsed by the UN.
Good hands
Tutu said: "As a concept it's a very, very good thing to have. There are very many, very bright people, very good people (here) and I think it shows that the world is in good hands. "I don't mean governments, I mean people."
Others attending the conference, which would end on Tuesday, included former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, British religious expert Karen Armstrong, former French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine and New York Rabbi Arthur Shneier.
A UN delegate for the alliance group, Shamil Idriss, said: "We're very happy with how it's gone so far. "It's an extraordinarily rich, diverse and deeply intellectual, but also practical collection of people."
Tutu insisted upon the world's ability to overcome terrorism just as it had defeated Nazism, fascism and apartheid.
'Good will prevail'
He said: "The powerful when they use their power to injustice sometimes think they will be there forever." But he went on to ask where were Hitler, Mussolini or the organisers of apartheid were today.
However, he would not be drawn to name the Hitlers and Mussolinis of today.
He said: "That would make some people angry. "But, there are quite a few rulers in the world who don't promote human rights. "I have no doubt at all that good is going to prevail. The unjust ruler will end up biting the dust."
He dismissed suggestions that religion was responsible for the rise of international terrorism.
Tutu said: "Religion is like a knife, it is morally neutral. It is neither good nor bad."
- AP
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