National   

Take the fight against terror to world stage, says Pratibha

— Photo: S. Subramanium

President Pratibha Patil with Chief Justice of India Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Union Minister for Law and Justice Veerappa Moily and All India Senior Advocates Association president Ram Jethmalani at the International Conference of Jurists in New Delhi on Saturday.

New Delhi: Describing terrorism as a global phenomenon, President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said, “Global problems call for global response.”

Ms. Patil said: “India has been a frequent victim of terrorism for over two decades. Besides inflicting large-scale physical casualties, terrorism poses a grave challenge to the essential elements of civil society like peace, democracy, individual liberty and freedom of thought and expression.”

The President was inaugurating a two-day international conference of jurists on international terrorism at the Vigyan Bhavan here.

The President said: “Global problems call for global response. Terrorism is a perverse global phenomenon and the struggle against it must be carried to the world stage. Countries must individually own up responsibilities as must the international community, in collectively defeating terrorism and not deflect responsibility on to non-state actors. The responsibility to deal with them lies with the state from which they operate as it is the sanctuary, support and finances that they receive which sustain their heinous and perverse acts.”

She stressed the importance of intelligence gathering. The international community must ensure that there was an effective legal framework for prevention and elimination of terrorism and to bring to justice the sponsors, abettors and perpetrators of terrorism.

“Some other issues which merit special focus would be the financing of terrorists, money laundering and regulation of charities, besides printing and circulation of fake currencies. There is a growing nexus between narcotics, drug trafficking, gunrunning and terrorism. Terrorists utilise sophisticated communication technologies and indulge in cyber terrorism. The related laws need to be strengthened.”

Ms. Patil presented the International Jurists Awards 2009 to Justice Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore; Justice Awn S. Al-Khasawneh of the International Court of Justice; Sir Gavin Lightman, former High Court judge (Chancery Division), United Kingdom; Prof. C. Donald Johnson, Director of the Georgia School of Law, U.S.; Fatou Bensouda, head of the Prosecution Division, International Criminal Court; and the Society of the Inner Temple, London.

She presented National Law Day Awards 2009 to Haryana Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda; Justice Arijit Pasayat, Chairman, Competition Appellate Tribunal; Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam; senior advocate K.V. Viswanathan and four others.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Take the fight against terror to world stage, says Pratibha
Sikh diaspora seeks explanation for injustice to victims of 1984 carnage
Shourie: allow IITs to work autonomously
Naidu’s all-out attack on Rosaiah, Yeddyurappa
Try cross-border terror attacks in ICC: Balakrishnan
Italy faces growing jihadist threat
Concern over global doctrine of right to first use of military
He popularised handlooms, Indian tea
CIA chief meets M.K. Narayanan
IFFI-2009 opens tomorrow
Editors Guild condemns attacks on IBN offices
My karma bhoomi: envoy
Shopian lawyers protest against CBI
Bihar doctors call off strike

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu