High-profile terrorism victim urges dialogue with terrorists at a UN event

UNITED NATIONS: Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held hostage for over six years by left-wing guerillas, has called for addressing the challenge of terrorism through dialogue, saying it was necessary to appeal to humanism and love, as revenge and hatred were not the answer.   

"Dialogue with terrorists should never be ruled out, as that was the basic way in which humans solved problems, and it was often a way to save lives," Ms. Betancourt said at a press conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who largely agreed with her.

Ms. Betancourt was seized by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, during her 2002 presidential campaign. She was rescued in July, after six years' captivity in the jungle.

While advocating dialogue with terrorists, Ms. Betancourt also said it was important to bring to justice anyone who committed a crime, particularly "horrendous crimes constituting terrorism".

The secretary-general, who was asked to comment on Ms. Betancourt's stress on dialogue with terrorists, agreed that dialogue was always important in resolving crises, although, when it came to terrorism, one could not make general rules on tactics, which must be considered on a case-to-case basis.

The press conference on Tuesday followed a U.N.-sponsored symposium on 'Supporting Victims of Terrorism' involving 18 victims of terrorist attacks around the world - their often wrenching testimony intended to highlight the human toll that organizers said got lost amid most counterterrorism measures.

But several countries and journalists criticized the U.N. for excluding victims of "state terrorism" in Palestine, Kashmir and elsewhere from participating in the symposium. The explanation given by the U.N. was that the 16 conventions on terrorism do not cover "state terrorism".

There was also criticism about the absence at the symposium of victims of terrorism in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Earlier, Ms. Betancourt, addressing the symposium, called for U.N.-backed international status for victims of terrorism with centralized data to publicize their plight.

Making information about victims available on a U.N. Web site would enable "meaningful pressure" to be exerted on their behalf, Ms. Betancourt said in a keynote address to the meeting promoted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"Too many totalitarian states hide the reality of victims of terrorism in their country in order not to be accountable for them to the world," she said.

At the press conference, Ban Ki-moon was asked whether he supported the granting of a recognized international status for victims. The Secretary-General replied he would certainly discuss that and all specific proposals resulting from the symposium with his advisers and bring them to the attention of Member States. "The declaration of rights is a good idea".

Opening the symposium, the secretary-General called on UN member states to  take practical steps to implement their commitments to promote and protect the rights of terrorism victims so that they can help create a global culture against the scourge.

He stressed that terrorism is a global phenomenon, capable of striking at any ethnic, religious or national group. "It attacks humanity itself," he said, adding that "it is for the sake of humanity that we must create a global forum for your voice and listen to you, the victims."

Accompanying the secretary-general at the press conference, besides Ms. Betancourt, were: Ashraf Al-Khaled, whose wedding in Amman, Jordan, was devastated by bombers in November 2005; Chris Cramer, former President of CNN International, who was held by a separatist group in Iran's London Embassy in 1980; and Laura Dolci, a United Nations staff member whose husband, Jean-Selim Kanaan, died in the 19 August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.