'We'll pursue terrorists from place to place'

By Amit Baruah

SHANGHAI, OCT. 20. The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, today described the September 11 terrorist attacks on his country as an ``attack on all civilised countries'' by giving statistics and nationalities of those killed in New York - 96 Russians, 23 Australians, at least 30 Chinese, 24 Japanese, 20 Malaysians, 16 Mexicans and 21 Indonesians.

Using strong language in an address to the APEC CEOs' summit, Mr. Bush's speech was dominated by the issue of terrorism, only to the end did he make a reference to free trade and the need for launching a new round of WTO negotiations.

``This conflict is a fight to save the civilised world, and values common to the West, to Asia, to Islam...by their cruelty, the terrorists have chosen to live on the hunted margin of mankind,'' Mr. Bush said.

``The most visible part of our response is taking place in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime has allied itself with murderers. I gave Taliban leaders a choice: turn over the terrorists, or face your ruin. They chose unwisely,'' he said.

Saying that the U.S. stood for friendship with the Afghan people, Mr. Bush maintained: ``My Government supports international efforts to bring help and stability and peace to that unfortunate nation''.

He blamed the Taliban for problems in the delivery of food and medicine in Afghanistan. ``I share that frustration. The guilty ones are the Taliban. They disrupt; they steal; they prevent supplies of food from delivery. They starve their people, and that is another reason they must go.

``Tomorrow, APEC leaders will pledge to work together to deny the terrorists any sanctuary, any funding, any material or moral support. Together, we will, patiently and diligently, pursue the terrorists from place to place until justice is done,'' he said.

He said the war on terror had many fronts and military action is only a part of our plan. ``The campaign will take strong diplomacy and intelligence; diligent law enforcement and financial cooperation. It will span every continent and require varied contribution from many nations.''

``The stakes in this fight were high for all nations - our lives, our way of lives and our economic future. By attacking two great economic symbols, the terrorists tried to shatter confidence in the world economic system. But they failed. The terrorists hoped that world markets would collapse. But markets have proven their resilience and fundamental strength. And this week in these halls, we return to the steady work of building the market-based economic system that has brought more prosperity more quickly to more people than at any time in human history.

``I'm here in Shanghai to assure our friends - and to inform our foes - that the progress of trade and freedom will continue. The ties of culture and commerce will grow stronger. Economic development will grow broader,'' he said.

``The Asia-Pacific region provides the world with a model of choice: choose openness, trade, and tolerance, and you will find prosperity, liberty and knowledge. Choose isolation, envy and resentment, and you will find poverty, stagnation and ignorance. Our nations have chosen - we have chosen freedom over fear,'' he said.

``Out of the sorrow of September 11th, I see opportunity - a chance for nations and their leaders to strengthen and to rethink and reinvigorate our relationships. We share more than a common enemy, we share a common goal: to expand our ties of trade and trust. And now we must seize the opportunity,'' the President maintained.

Stating that trade was the engine of economic development, Mr. Bush said APEC's Bogor goals of free trade by the year 2020 must be met. Supporting a new round of trade negotiations, Mr. Bush said there was much work to be done to make the upcoming WTO Ministerial Meeting a success.

The U.S., he told the CEOs, would do its part to restore economic confidence in the world - by keeping its markets and country open for business. The economic fundamentals of the U.S. were strong and the nation would recover.

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