Some
Reflections on September 11th
Remarks
by the Honourable David Kilgour,
Member of Parliament for Edmonton
Southeast and Secretary of
State (Latin America and Africa)
at the opening of the BAZM-E-SUKHAN
Literary and Cultural Society
and Multilingual Library
Edmonton, Alberta,
September
22, 2001
It
is an honour to be with
you all this afternoon to
celebrate the opening of
this special library and
to bring greetings from
the Federal government.
Permit me to refer briefly
to the events of September
11th and those
that have followed. Approximately
an hour after the second
passenger aircraft ploughed
into the World Trade Towers,
a special assembly of the
Organization of American
States (OAS) meeting in
Lima, Peru, unanimously
passed the Democratic Charter,
which 34 hemispheric leaders
meeting at the Quebec Summit
directed Foreign Ministers
to create.
The
American Secretary of State,
Colin Powell, accepted the
regrets of many of us in
delegations present at the
assembly and then made a
solemn intervention about
the unfolding catastrophe
in the United States.
When he added that
despite everything, he wanted
to remain in Lima until
the Charter was passed,
the delegations adopted
it quickly and he then left
for Washington.
How ironic, some
of us thought, that the
first democracy in the hemisphere
to be under siege was one
of the oldest and militarily
strongest.
It
was not an attack only on
the U.S..
The mass murderers
struck at the beliefs of
peoples virtually everywhere
on earth.
We are now in a real war
against terrorism and most
Canadians will want to be
part of a co-ordinated and
effective response. Our people now know that it will be a long
struggle with no easy solutions.
Patience and prudence
will be essential.
Muslim
Canadians
It
is very sad that the events
of September 11th
have provoked some acts
against Muslim Canadians
and other faith communities.
This is completely
un-Canadian and unacceptable.
Terrorists win when
they export their hatred.
Ours is a struggle
against them, not against
any faith community.
Indeed,
a young man of indicated
origin in Afghanistan in
my 16-year-old daughter’s
school class was beaten
by a gang of youths last
weekend in Ottawa.
He was evidently
unconscious for 4-5 hours
when his mother found him.
Thank God, there
have been no such incidents
in Edmonton.
Prime
Minister at the Ottawa Mosque
Yesterday,
Prime Minister Jean Chretien
visited Ottawa’s Central
Mosque.
His remarks included
these thoughts:
“I
have come here, as your
Prime Minister, to bring
a message of reassurance
and tolerance.
I
know that the days since
September 11th,
2001 have been ones of great
sadness and anxiety for
Muslims across Canada.
Because cold-blooded
killers who committed the
atrocities in New York and
Washington invoked the name
and words of Islam as justification."
“Many of your faith
have felt constrained when
expressing your sympathy
and solidarity with the
victims.
This despite the
fact that many Muslims also
perished in the attacks.
Worse.
Some have been singled
out for denunciation and
violence.
Acts that have no
place in Canada or any civilized
nation.
And which have made
me feel shame as Prime Minister."
“I wanted to stand
by your side today.
And to reaffirm with
you that Islam is about
peace.
About justice.
And about harmony
among all people.
And I sense your
sadness at the way that
a great world religion has
been unjustly smeared by
this evil."
“I
say today, once again, that
we are all Canadians.
We stand together
as one against this evil.
We grieve together
as a family.
As one nation we
defy the twisted philosophy
of terrorists.
And shoulder to shoulder
we will pursue the struggle
for justice.”
Omission
of Canada in President’s
Speech
Let
me add a word about why
our country was not included
among the nations President
Bush mentioned in his address
to the House of Congress
this week.
This is a moment
for all of us to focus on
sharing tasks, not credit.
Our
neighbour's relationship
with Canada is so strong
that its strength is self-evident.
The President has
repeatedly thanked our Prime
Minister directly.
Moreover, the new
American Ambassador to Canada,
Paul Cellucci, said recently:
“The U.S. is reaching out
to countries across the
planet to build a broader
international coalition.
Of course we didn’t
have to reach out to Canada;
Canada reached out to us.”
Secretary
Powell, moreover, said in
part yesterday in Washington
after he met with Foreign
Minister John Manley:
“(This
is an) opportunity as Secretary
of State to thank the Canadian
people and the Canadian government,
especially the Prime Minister,
for all the solid support
that Canada has given to the
United States in the days
since the 11th
of September. (It) also gave me a chance to express my condolences
to those Canadians who lost
family members in the World
Trade Centres."
“Canada
was one of the first on the
scene with all kinds of help
for us in this time of crisis. Whether it was taking in some 20,000 airline
travelers who were stranded
- no question about it.
Canada welcomed them
and extended fine Canadian
hospitality, took care of
them and helped them to get
on their way to their destination. Canadian fire fighters assisted us in guarding
airspace.
Canadian volunteers
came to New York to help.
We have medical support,
offers of blood, offers of
rescue.
Every imaginable offer
we have received from Canadian
brothers and sisters, and
the American people will be
forever grateful for that
offer of support, and forever
thankful."
“We
will never forget the images
we saw of the 100,000 Canadians
who assembled on Parliament
Hill to pay their respects
to their American brothers
and sisters. This is a sign
of the close relationship
that exists between our two
countries and our two peoples,
a relationship that can never
be weakened but only strengthened
in the years ahead.”
Finally,
I again congratulate the efforts
of President Kishwar Shani
and the Board of Directors
of the Bazm-E-Sukhan Literary
and Cultural Society for your
hard work in making this ambitious
project a success.
Your
contributions will enrich
not only members of Edmonton’s
South Asian community, but
all residents of the best
city in the best province
in the best country on earth.
