Terrorism is the same anywhere; no room for differentiation
– President Mahinda Rajapaksa tells G11 Summit  
[Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 16.30 GMT] 
  
“My request to you is for the G-11 to emphasize the strong bond that unites us all in responding to the challenge of terrorism. All terrorist attacks whether on Amman,Islamabad, London or Colombo, are acts that must be vehemently condemned. There can be no differentiating between them. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism”, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the G11 Summit in Jordan today.   
  
President Rajapaksa added that: “Unfortunately, some in the developed world tend to view certain terrorist organizations with a degree of tolerance. At times, these terrorists are viewed as rebels or fighters against discrimination, as long as they do not create violence in those countries. Also some countries have permitted terror organizations to have front offices, institutions, lobby groups and charities based on the premise of democracy. By this, they have shown their indifference to terrorism.
  
“As a group which has a common understanding and similar issues to grapple with, we, the members of the G – 11 must work towards eliminating terrorism from the face of this earth. It is the poor and the disadvantaged of our countries who suffer most. We have an obligation to them, to make their lives free of violence and anxiety,” he said.
  
The G11 Group was launched last year at the time of the UN General Assembly sessions in New York. Its members are Jordan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia (Middle East and Asia), Morocco and Tunisia (Africa), Georgia and Croatia (Europe) and Honduras, Paraguay and Ecuador (Central and South America). Jordan is the current Secretary General of the G11.

The objective of the G11 Group is to increase cooperation and knowledge sharing among participants who are from the lower-Middle Income countries. The proposals in the “white Paper” finalized at the G11 Summit in Jordan are expected to be presented to the G-8 meeting in Germany next month.
  
Here is the text of President Rajapaksa’s address to the G11 Summit:
  
Your Majesty King Abdullah,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
  
Please accept my congratulations, Your Majesty, for the exemplary leadership you have provided in the past two years as Chairman of the G-11. I also take this opportunity to thank you most sincerely for the wonderful hospitality accorded to me and my delegation during our visit to your beautiful country.
  
The G-11 initiative has moved steadily forward since we met last at the 61st UN General Assembly sessions in September 2006, in New York. Since then, we have finalized a “White Paper” which we hope to present to the G-8 Meeting in Germany in June this year. We also have before us the 2nd Summit Communiqué which we will adopt, here today, which outlines the future of our Group.
  
We all are at a critical juncture in our development process. Despite the many challenges posed by terrorism, rising oil prices and natural disaster, all of us are on the verge of becoming Middle Income Economies. In fact our situation is very peculiar. We don’t belong to the Least Developed category and therefore are not recipients of specific assistance granted to those countries. We also do not belong to the Middle Income Category and do not have the per capita income levels to fuel our path of development.
  
This then is the significance of the G-11 Initiative. It creates a platform for LMICs to present their case, to the developed world and particularly to the G-8. What we are asking for is “targeted help” and “result oriented assistance” to accelerate the implementation of homegrown development programmes. We have all undertaken structural reforms, liberalized our economies, put in place sound macroeconomic frameworks, and have achieved impressive growth patterns. To sustain our levels of economic growth and development enabling our rural poor to benefit, we certainly require targeted assistance.
Excellencies,
 

Undoubtedly, if we are to sustain our levels of development the rural poor must receive specific attention. They tend to be left behind as our economies progress. Disparities in levels of development within a country must be bridged. For instance, in my own country, in the past, economic growth has left the rural areas behind. Disparities within a country and disparities among income groups cannot be tolerated, if we are to graduate to Middle Income status and remain there.
    
In the 10 year Development Framework under the Mahinda Chintana, the recipe for a new Sri Lanka, we have outlined several programmes particularly to address the issues of the rural sector. We are placing emphasis on roads, particularly in the rural areas, electricity, irrigation and water supply, housing and livelihood assistance. We have launched an unprecedented rural development initiative within the medium term development framework.
  
A large share of investment goes into developing the basic infrastructure in rural areas. The roads in remote and rural areas are being developed. We are using new instruments for rural community empowerment. In order to ensure poverty reduction and social upliftment and to implement our development programmes, what we require is financial and technical assistance.
Excellencies,
  
It is only with a stable political environment that sustainable development can be achieved. In this context, we must deal with the menace of terrorism. Many around the table today have first hand experience of the havoc caused by terrorism.
  
Sri Lanka has suffered heavily from terrorism. We have been working together with the global community to deal with terrorism. We have also firmly confronted senseless terrorist violence. Not only we seek to defeat terrorism, but also to liberate the people who have become victims of terrorism. In this exercise, we are fully committed to safeguarding human rights and democracy. Political negotiations and constitutional reforms have been initiated to address concerns of all communities.
  
Although confronted by many challenges, Sri Lanka sustained an economic growth in excess of 7.2 percent during 2006 – a further improvement from the growth of 6.2 percent in 2005. Unemployment declined to 6 percent. Exports grew by around 8 percent. We have attracted overseas remittances of over 2 billion US Dollars. We managed to attract foreign investment in excess of 600 million US Dollars.
  
My request to you, here today, is for the G-11 to emphasize the strong bond that unites us all in responding to the challenge of terrorism. All terrorist attacks whether on Amman, Islamabad, London or Colombo, are acts that must be vehemently condemned. There can be no differentiating between them. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism.
  
Unfortunately, some in the developed world tend to view certain terrorist organizations with a degree of tolerance. At times, these terrorists are viewed as rebels or fighters against discrimination, as long as they do not create violence in those countries. Also some countries have permitted terror organizations to have front offices, institutions, lobby groups and charities based on the premise of democracy. By this, they have shown their indifference to terrorism.
    
As a group which has a common understanding and similar issues to grapple with, we, the members of the G – 11 must work towards eliminating terrorism and establishing sustainable peace. It is the poor and the disadvantaged of our countries who suffer most. We have an obligation to them, to make their lives free of violence and anxiety. I am extremely happy that Your Majesty at the opening session of the World Economic Forum echoed the voices of the right thinking people on the need to bringing ever lasting peace to Palestinians.
  
I wish to make an appeal therefore to the members of the G - 11 to support His Majesty’s proposal and speak in one voice on the need for bringing peace to Palestine. We also must lend support to each other to combat terrorism and bring about sustainable peace. We would then be able to make G - 11 a strong lobby in the world. It is the only means to survive and progress towards development.
Excellencies,
  
I wish to conclude by thanking His Majesty King Abdullah for undertaking this timely initiative. It is up to the countries involved in the G-11 initiative to work together to make it successful.
  
I thank you.

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Last Updated Date: May 19, 2007 -16.30 GMT