Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogallagama highlighted the potent and ominous challenge that many democracies face today, emanating from the threat of terrorism. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali today.

The Bali Democracy Forum, an initiative of the Indonesian government, which brought together high level delegations from 33 countries in Asia to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the 2 day meeting was inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and co-chaired by the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.The Sultan of Brunei and the Prime Minister of Timor L'Este were also in attendance.

Minister Bogollagama spoke of Sri Lanka's deeply rooted democratic tradition, which he traced to the granting of universal adult franchise in 1931 and said that the trappings of democracy, manifested by the right of the people to go to the polls periodically and elect a government of their choice or in the many magnificent edifices housing the seat of Parliament, the Presidency or the Palaces of justice, do not qualify a country to be a true democratic state. Real democracy becomes alive in a state where the government is accountable to the people and where the rule of law is upheld by a fearless and independent judiciary.

Speaking further, the Foreign Minister drew the attention of the assembled august gathering to the similarity of the methods employed by the LTTE and the terrorists who had staged the multiple attacks on Mumbai last month and said that the fact that these attacks were committed by terrorists getting in from the Arabian Sea aboard a hijacked vessel, underscored the need for the international community to beef up maritime security. He recalled his address to the Shangri-La Forum in June 2007,where he had pointed out the Al Qaeda suicide attack on 'USS Cole' in October 2000, as a copycat of the LTTE's attack on a Sri lankan naval vessel 'Abheetha' in 1991,which had been even acknowledged by the Sea Tigers chief, Soosai.

The Minister went on to brief his audience on the high priority that the Sri Lankan Government attaches to the observance of human rights and respect for the rule of law, even as it engages in military operations to clear the last remaining pockets in the North of the LTTE terrorists, which would enable the people there ,who have had to endure two decades of despotic reign of terror by the LTTE, to once again breathe the air of freedom and enjoy the fruits of democracy, which the rest of the people in the country took for granted.

Calling for greater international co-operation to tackle terrorism, Minister Bogollagama quoted a statement of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in this regard, where he had said,” Together with international unity and resolve ,we can meet and work to bring about an international law of zero tolerance for terrorism”. The Minister emphasized that terrorism spells the death knell for democracy and that terrorism anywhere is a threat to human civilization everywhere.