British Prime Minister Tony Blair made an impassioned plea on Tuesday for the world to unite against terrorism and refuse to “give one inch” to their demands.
Repeatedly quizzed at a Downing Street press conference about whether the London bombings this month might have been prompted in some way by the Iraq war, Blair rounded angrily on his critics.
The battle against terrorism must be unequivocal, he insisted.
“I want to make one thing very clear to you. Whatever excuse or justification these people use, I do not believe we should give one inch to them,” he said.
“Not in this country and the way we live our lives here,” Blair said. “Not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in our support for two states, Israel and Palestine, not in our support for the alliances we choose, including with America.
“Not one inch do we give to these people.”
In a combative performance, Blair slammed those who consider British backing for the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 a reason for the attacks in London on July 7 and July 21, the first of which killed 56 people including four suicide bombers.
“Let us expose the obscenity of these people saying it is concern for Iraq that drives them to terrorism,” he said.
“If it is concern for Iraq, then why are they driving a car bomb into the middle of a group of children and killing them?” he asked, referring to a suicide blast in Baghdad this month that killed 32 children.
“Why are they every day in Iraq trying to kill people whose only desire is for their country to become a democracy?” Blair asked.
“They will always have a reason, and I am not saying any of these things don’t affect their warped reasoning and warped logic as to what they do or that they don’t use these things to try and recruit people.
“But I do say we shouldn’t compromise with it. I’m not saying anyone says any of these things justify it, but we shouldn’t even allow them the vestige of an excuse for what they do.”
It is ludicrous to argue that suicide attacks could be excused in any circumstances, Blair added.
“There is no justification for suicide bombing, whether in Palestine, Iraq, in London, in Egypt, in Turkey, anywhere, in the United States of America, anywhere. There is no justification for it, period,” he said.
“Neither have they any justification for killing people in Israel either.”
However, while it is important not to see them as legitimate excuses, Blair noted that the world must make progress on some of the grievances cited by terrorists, such as the Middle East conflict.
“There are obviously certain things in government and the international community we have to do to try to take away the legitimate causes upon which people prey,” Blair said.
Issues such as Palestinian statehood are “important”, Blair said.
“There is a legitimate concern, but that doesn’t justify in the slightest way the suicide bombings or terrorism, but there is a concern about that and you have to deal with it,” he said.
Expanded powers of detention
Blair also said on Tuesday he supports giving police expanded powers of detention under proposed changes to anti-terrorist laws in the wake of the London bombings.
“I think it’s perfectly reasonable for us in circumstances of great difficulty to have a greater detention in order that there can be the interrogation of people who are suspected of doing this,” he told reporters.
“People rightly expect us to take the right measures to increase their security.”
Blair earlier on Tuesday held a summit with opposition party leaders to discuss possible changes to anti-terror laws, including police demands to hold suspects without charge for up to three months.
Top police officers have called for an extension of the time terror suspects can be held, from 14 days to as much as three months.
There is an “obvious balance between the liberties of the subject and what the police need”, Blair said.
“You would obviously have to have some sort of judicial oversight. We have to look at any proposal that they [police] make, and they have made this proposal arising out of specific operation difficulties.”
British police are struggling to respond to a terrorist threat in the wake of the two bomb attacks on the London transport system.
The prime minister has been keen to consult opposition parties to ensure bipartisan support for extending police powers.
Opposition Conservative party leader Michael Howard said after the meeting all sides of politics must “work together”, but warned that he has concerns about the increased detention.
“So far as the three-month period of detention which the police have asked for, we see very considerable difficulties in that,” he said. — AFP