What Beslan teaches us

They stood around with grief on their faces and in their figures, staring at and lovingly touching pictures of their dear children lost in the senseless acts of brutal insanity that Beslan experienced one year ago. Mothers, fathers, family and friends, assembled in the remains of the battered school gym where the massacre happened when Chechen militants clashed with Russian troops at the end of the siege of a local Beslan school. The tears were laced with anger at the Russian Government for the hamfisted manner in which the siege was handled by the military.

Beslan teaches us that the bigger hammer response to terrorism does not solve the problem of terrorism itself. The terrorists who besieged the school did not score any points either. Neither side in this sad drama came out as winners. The losers were the innocent. That is the wretched irony of terrorism and counter-terrorism alike. That lesson has been taught elsewhere too, such as in Northern Ireland, Palestine, South Africa, Iraq, and recently, the UK. The common denominator in all these regions is the battle for justice. Unfortunately, each side has its own view of justice. As always, it is the innocent who suffers most.

Below the surface of the Chechen conflict lies a deeper level of strive. For Chechnya the fighting goes about the call for independence of Chechnya from Russia and the Russian response to this view. For many Chechens this boils down to a conflict fueled by their perception of an injustice being committed against them by the Russian government.

In Northern Ireland, the battle is clearly over the independence of Northern Ireland from the UK and consequent inclusion into Ireland. No British government in its right mind will deny that the battle is over that. However, now it would appear that both Tony Blair and Jack Straw have suffered complete amnesia over what often fuels terrorism. They now claims that terrorists grab for straws (no pun) to justify acts of violence. They would like us to believe terrorists are actually just evil gnomes without any real motives. Really? The IRA clearly states that their motive is to oppose the British government over the question of inclusion of Northern Ireland into Ireland. The very existence of the IRA is build around resistance to British rule there. Grabbing for straws? I think not. The cultural, religious and political strive run deeply in Northern Ireland. Violence commited by the IRA and the reverse violence from the British government have not brought Northern Ireland any closer to a solution. Thank heavens that the IRA has recently made a policy change to denounce violence. That is a major breakthrough - a change of heart in one of the parties involved in the spiral of violence.

In Palestine, Hamas, a rather controversial organization that also engages in terrorism against Israel, has clear motives to secure an independent Palestine state. They seem to go further and do not accept the existence of Israel. To call their motives a grabbing for straws of self-justification while Israel blatantly defies International Law and occupies land in the West Bank, often brutally oppressing Palestinians in the process, is a rather blatant stretch of the imagination. Instead, Israel and its supporters are handing Hamas fuel for the terrible fires of terrorism in a golden tanker. The ensuing conflict has only brought misery to all sides. The bigger hammer has not solved the bigger problem, Israel's claims to the contrary notwithstanding. Violence has not moved the parties any closer to a solution, in spite of the high cost in human suffering. The recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was a positive move. Let's hope Hamas can respond with its own positive move in return, rather than to make boastful remarks on TV.

In Iraq, complicated though the political and ethnic situations are, the insurgency is aimed clearly at resisting the US and coalition forces there. There was no insurgency before the invasion of Iraq. There were no Islamic militant actions in the UK before the invasion of Iraq. To suggest that Islamic militants are grabbing for straws to justify their vehement opposition to the invasion of Iraq, is an insult to the faculties of observation of the peaceful citizens of this world. The end of that conflict is not in sight - not along the current path.

In South Africa, the ANC, now the governing party there, ran a military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, for years. This wing committed numerous acts of terrorism in South Africa since its inception in the 1960's until the change in 1994 when the wing was dismantled. Their goal was clear - to oppose the injustice of Apartheid. To accuse the ANC of grabbing for straws in justifying their militant opposition of the nationalist government in SA would be a gross insult to the lot of black South Africans through those dark years of oppression. Yet, the bigger hammer approach of the nationalist government in SA did not bring about reduction in terrorism or a resolution to the inherent conflict. At the same time, terrorism did not end the oppression in South Africa. Only a change in heart, brought about mainly by economic sanctions in the 1980's, and - importantly, real dialogue - brought an end to the political and militant conflict in South Africa.

Violence does not solve problems. Instead, violence perpetuate and inflame problems. This is true whether violence comes from militants or the state. Sadly, when a faction of people feels disenfranchised and thus powerless in a society, whether national or international, such a faction often finds resolve in violence and militancy. The governments of the world must realise this phenomenon by now: Militancy is fueled by a perception of injustice by those who feels powerless in the face of the establishment. Violent and hamfisted response from states will only further fuel this militancy.

The solution to the above dilemma is in dialogue with a real willingness to hear and understand the other side's view. Only in dialogue do we find lasting solutions. Africa is rife with examples of both the success and failure of dialogue. Without exception, the consequences of failure in dialogue led to immeasurable anguish and agony for the innocent.

May the lesson that Beslan has taught us be a dear one not lightly forgotten.