Brief von Rigoberta Menchu, Friedensnobelpreisträgerin, an George
W.Bush vom 23.Sept.2001
To Mr. George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
Washington DC, USA.
Your Excellency, Mr. President:
In the first place, I want to reiterate to you the solidarity
and condolences I
expressed to all your people on Tues. Sept. 11 when I became aware
of the painful occurrences that had taken place in your country,
as well as to share my indignation and condemnation of
the threats these acts of terrorism constitute.
In recent days I have been following the evolution of events,
using my
best efforts so that the response to them would be reflection,
not
obsession; prudence, not rage; and the pursuit of justice, not
revenge.
I invoked the consciousness of the world's peoples, the communications
media, the eminent personalities with whom I share an ethical
commitment
to peace, the heads of state and leaders of international bodies,
in
order that prudence illuminate our acts.
Nevertheless, Mr. President, upon listening to the message you
gave to
the Congress of your country, I have been unable to overcome
a sensation
of fear for what may come of your words. You call upon your people
to
prepare for "a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever
seen" and for your soldiers to save their honour by marching
to a war in
which you intend to involve all of us, the peoples of the world.
In the name of progress, pluralism, tolerance and liberty, you
leave no
choice for those of us who are not fortunate enough to share
this
sensation of liberty and the benefits of the civilization you
wish to
defend for your people, we who never had sympathy for terrorism
since we
were its victims.
We, who are proud expressions of other civilizations; who live
day to
day with the hope of turning discrimination and plunder into
recognition
and respect; who carry in our souls the pain of the genocide
perpetrated
against our peoples; finally, we who are fed up with providing
the dead
for wars that are not ours: we cannot share the arrogance of
your
infallibility nor the single road onto which you want to push
us when
you declare that "Every nation in every region now has a decision
to
make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists."
At the beginning of this year, I invited the men and women of
the planet
to adopt a Code of Ethics for a Millennium of Peace sustaining
that:
There will be no Peace if there is no Justice
There will be no Justice if there is no Equity
There will be no Equity if there is no Progress
There will be no Progress if there is no Democracy
There will be no Democracy if there is no respect for the Identity
and
Dignity of the Peoples and Cultures
In today's world, all these values and practices are scarce;
nevertheless, the unequal manner in which they are distributed
does
nothing but generate impotence, hopelessness and hatred. The
role of
your country in the present world order is far from being neutral.
Last
night, we hoped for a sensible, reflective and self-critical
message but
what we heard was an unacceptable threat. I agree with you that
" the course of this conflict is not known", but when you declare that
"its outcome is certain", the only certainty that comes to me is that
of a
new and gigantic useless sacrifice, of a new and colossal lie.
Before you cry "fire", I would like to invite you to consider
a
different kind of world leadership, one in which it is necessary
to
convince rather than to defeat; in which humanity is able to
demonstrate that in the last thousand years we have surpassed
the
meaning of "an eye for an eye" which justice had for the barbarians
who
sank humanity into medieval obscurantism; and that there is no
need for
new crusades in order to learn to respect those who have a different
conception of God and the work of His creation; in which we would
share
in solidarity the fruits of progress, taking better care of the
resources still remaining in the planet and that no child lack
bread and
a school.
With hope hanging by a thread, I greet you attentively,
Rigoberta Menchu Tum
September 23, 2001
home
back
side |