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ILDC Director Joins the Debate on Terrorism in Dublin

(Plainfield – April 5, 2007) ILDC Director Louay Safi addressed on Wednesday, April 4th, the College Historical Society on the question of political violence. In debating this issue Dr. Safi joined a group of speakers that included Kate Fitzgerald , the chair of the Irish committee of Democrats Abroad , Eamonn Mallie , noted journalist and political commentator, who was behind the Channel 4 documentary "Good Friday Agreement" and author of "The Provisional IRA" and "The Fight for Peace," Deirdre Clancy, an anti-war activist, and Harry Browne, Columnist for the Village magazine and member of Anti-War Ireland . Louay Safi addressing the College Historical Society

The Society's Wednesday debate is part of an old tradition that dates back to the days of the British philosopher Edmond Burke, who established the Historical Society in Dublin, Ireland, in 1770. Over the years, the Society hosted debates on timely and often controversial issues, and invited speakers with diverse views on those issues. The list of speakers that addressed the College Historical Society includes Winston Churchill, Joseph Hellar, Ted Kennedy, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Paddy Ashdown, and Tony Benn.

Dr. Safi stressed the need to have clarity in defining terrorism and consistency in prosecuting the war on terrorism. He pointed out that the current definition of terrorism adopted by world powers is oblivious to violence committed by suppressive governments against civilian populations under their control. He stressed the need to adopt universal criteria rooted in international humanitarian law, and then consistently apply the criteria to both state and non-state actors, without fear or favor. This is not only the right thing to do, he argued, but the most effective way to counter terrorism. He suggested that terrorism should be defined as "the use of violence against civilians and non-combatants for achieving political ends."

Focusing on the Global War on Terrorism, he illustrated how the lack of clarity and the absence of consistency have led to increase, rather than decrease, in the incidents of terrorism. Referring to recent statistics released by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), a federally funded organization, he pointed out that the number of terrorist incidents increased worldwide from 2,013 in 2002 to 3,646 in 2004, to a staggering figure of almost 6,500 in 2006.

Fighting terrorism effectively, Dr. Safi concluded, requires paying attention to the social and political conditions in which terrorist groups thrive, and addressing the legitimate concerns of the aggrieved party, particularly those who have been denied legitimate rights and demands by an oppressive majority or a suppressive state.