Policy Statement made by
Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
to the German Bundestag

Berlin, October 11, 2001

Mr President,
Ladies and gentlemen,

On 7 October, as part of the necessary response to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the United States of America began military action against the infrastructure of the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden and the facilities of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In this situation, active solidarity and responsible action are expected of Germany - and they will indeed be forthcoming. Our solidarity must be more than mere lip-service. And we must pursue a policy which is in keeping with Germany's responsibility in the world, as well as the Federal Government's responsibility for people in Germany.

Not only in our country are many people asking anxious questions:
What contribution will be asked of us in the fight against terrorism what risks must we take in the process? Are we facing a new phase of international instability - with all the consequences for our external and internal security, as well as for our freedom?

The Federal Government's reply to these questions is unambiguous:
We are in the midst of a decisive and probably lengthy fight against international terrorism.

We did not ask for this conflict - it has been forced upon us by the barbaric attacks. However, we will take up the fight against terrorism - and we will win. We are not waging war against individual states or peoples - and certainly not against the Islamic world as a whole. However, anyone who promotes or assists terrorism, anyone who offers shelter to the organizers or the instigators, anyone who allows them to operate their networks of terror and to prepare their crimes, will be called to account.

The Taliban regime was aware of all this. The rulers in Kabul had enough time to meet the demands of the community of peoples and states. It wanted this confrontation.

The Afghan people are themselves the victims of terrorism, poverty and oppression. That is why we want to assist them within the framework of Atlantic solidarity, but above all through the United Nations, also by launching a comprehensive aid program.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Federal Government would like to tell people in Germany with equal clarity that we are doing everything in our power to guarantee the safety of our citizens. It is true that at present there is no concrete evidence of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks. There is no reason to be afraid or to panic. Nevertheless, we have increased security at facilities considered to be at particular risk and taken further measures to enable us to better combat the new forms of terrorism and violence.

As early as 19 September the Cabinet adopted a first anti-terrorism package intended to improve air traffic safety. This involves checking the background and monitoring airport employees, improving baggage checks and having security staff escort German aircraft. The Federal Government will make available an additional three billion marks annually for the fight against terrorism. We intend to amend our criminal law to make it easier for us to prosecute foreign criminals and terrorist organizations. And we are abolishing the privileges accorded to religious groups under the law of associations. For the basic right of freedom of religion and belief must not protect religious fanatics and those who plan murder and terror.

It is abundantly clear that we must react to the new forms of terrorism with closer national and international cooperation between security authorities. However, it is equally clear that security arrangements within Germany satisfy the highest international standards. The Federal Criminal Police Office, the Federal Border Police, the intelligence
services and the police do good and effective work. And we owe our thanks to them for this work.

The terrorism we are dealing with is organized in an international network. To be meaningful, many measures therefore require closer European and international cooperation. For that reason, we looked in detail at the problems of preventing and combating terrorism at the special session of the European Council which took place in Brussels on 20 September. Another informal meeting will be held in Ghent on 19 October.

The main priority of the Heads of State and Government of the European Union is to introduce a European warrant for arrest which will result in greatly simplified procedures for handing over suspected criminals. Moreover, we want to link up the activities of the
anti-terrorist experts in individual countries more effectively and to optimize transatlantic police cooperation with the US. Furthermore, in asylum and immigration law we need legislation which provides greater protection from terrorism, also at European level.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Federal Government will adopt a second comprehensive anti-terrorist package before the end of this month. Above all, we must give our security and law enforcement authorities more efficient means of using additional information. That could mean including fingerprints or other biometric characteristics in identity cards, passports and visa applications in future. This, incidentally, has been mandatory for residence permits in the United States for many years.

This practice would indeed improve the quality and efficiency of the fight against terrorism but would by no means jeopardize fundamental rights, let alone herald the abolition of the rule of law. We must and shall adapt our protection of the constitution to the new threat, both in terms of personnel and structure. Our investigations have shown that there are terrorist networks here in Germany, too. We all must take the potential threat they pose very seriously.

I also see need for action in civil defense and disaster procedures. Following the end of the Cold War, earlier threats seemed to have vanished. We must now redouble and focus our efforts to protect the public, something which we had of course not stopped doing in the first place. Our main task now is to swiftly link up the necessary information among the Länder and nationwide, to guarantee that it is passed on and to ensure efficient operations. That will include an appropriate warning system for the public.

An abstract and fruitless discussion about changing the ground rules for our society will not help the fight against terrorism at all. Make no mistake: we will continue to differentiate between internal and external security. The constitution as it stands has always permitted the deployment of the Federal Armed Forces in situations where is it meaningful and necessary.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In my policy statement of 19 September I pointed out that we must focus on the financial structures of terrorist networks. I also said that it was our job to seek out and disrupt these flows of finance. This will require measures at national and international level. We will establish a central agency to combat money laundering and create structures and instruments to make it easier to prosecute illegal or dubious banking transactions and practices.

Last weekend the Finance Ministers of the G 7 countries and Russia agreed on a comprehensive action plan on combating terrorism and money laundering. The measures devised by the Federal Minister of Finance and the action plan agreed upon internationally are suitable tools for drying up the financial sources of international terrorism, thus effectively taking away from terrorist networks a key prerequisite for their existence and their actions.

The citizens of Germany may rest assured that their safety is a matter of prime importance to the Federal Government.

However, and I say this, too, in no uncertain terms: just as we will not allow ourselves to be driven into a "clash of civilizations" by the terrorists, nor will we surrender one inch of the values which hold our world together - freedom, solidarity, rule of law and justice - in the fight against terrorism.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In addition to maintaining constant and intensive contacts with our American and European friends, as well as with political leaders in Eastern Europe, in the Islamic world and in Asia, I visited the United States of America two days ago. There I had detailed talks with President Bush and met New York's Mayor Giuliani. In New York I had a full exchange of views with the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

This visit was crucial and necessary because it is particularly in difficult times that friendship proves its worth. However, there is yet another reason why in the current situation Germany must keep a high profile and demonstrate active solidarity in the international alliance against terrorism.

Following the end of the Cold War, the re-establishment of Germany's unity and the restoration of our full sovereignty, we must shoulder international responsibility in a new fashion. We must assume a measure of responsibility which is in keeping with our role as a key European and transatlantic partner, as well as that of a strong democracy and strong economy in the heart of Europe.

Only ten years ago no one would have expected more from Germany than secondary assistance, i.e. infrastructure or funds, in the international efforts to safeguard freedom, justice and stability. As I pointed out immediately after 11 September, this era of German
post-war politics is over once and for all.

Particularly we Germans, who were able to overcome the consequences of two world wars and achieve freedom and self-determination with the help and solidarity of our American and
European friends, now have an obligation to shoulder our new responsibility in full. Let there be no mistake: this expressly includes participation in military operations to defend freedom and human rights, and to establish stability and security. The targeted military strikes currently being carried out by the United States and Britain therefore not only have our unreserved solidarity.

These military strikes are, and this cannot be stressed often enough, fully in keeping with the decisions of the UN Security Council on the use of legitimate self-defense. In its seminal Resolution 1373, the UN Security Council adapted international law in an impressive manner to reflect the newly emerging threats.

These threats and attacks exceed anything which individual terrorists and terrorist groups have ever been considered capable of in international politics, but above all in every day life, in the history of human civilization.

The day before yesterday, Mayor Giuliani took me to the place where this abomination occurred - the place where, only a few weeks ago, thousands of people were going about their work in the World Trade Center. The shock which grips any thinking and feeling person at the sight of Ground Zero is all but impossible to describe in words. However, out of this shock grows the determination and strength to do everything to ensure that something like this never happens again.

Ladies and gentlemen,
To date our allies have not requested us to provide direct military support in the fight against terrorism. President Bush has assured me how much he, how much the American Administration and the American people, appreciate the contribution which we have made and continue to make towards intelligence cooperation, towards drying up the financial sources and, above all, towards the establishment of the international alliance against terrorism.

I made it clear to the American President that Germany will live up to its responsibility in every respect. That specifically includes military cooperation and participation. Such an obligation arises from Article 5 of the NATO Treaty whose applicability to the current situation was determined by the NATO Council. The readiness to make a military contribution to security is an important commitment to Germany's alliances and partnerships. However, it is not just that. The readiness to live up to our greater responsibility for international security also implies that Germany has a new perception of its foreign policy.

Assuming responsibility internationally and, at the same time, avoiding every direct risk, can and must not be the guiding principle of Germany's foreign and security policy. The Federal Government agrees fully with Secretary General Annan and the American President, who both regard military readiness as necessary but military solutions as inadequate.

We Germans are, and the UN Secretary General also emphasized this, to the fore in taking resolute action to both safeguard peace in the world and create and maintain stability based on respect for human rights and human dignity. The Federal Government has always said that our main focus must be on crisis prevention and management. I would like to add that this has never been an excuse not to take military action if need be.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The last few weeks have not only shocked us but have also made it clear to us that we have something very, very valuable to defend: the "pursuit of happiness", as the Americans say. "Human dignity", which must be the measure of every policy in Germany. Rule of law, justice and popular participation, which we must establish not only nationally but also internationally. The Federal Government is countering the indescribable barbarism which cost the lives of thousands of people in New York and Washington with vigor and circumspection.

Through intensive efforts and a host of activities it has been possible to establish a broad coalition against terrorism. The international community is determined as never before to join forces to achieve a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process. In doing so, we are making it clear once again that terrorism does not, and indeed cannot, have any justification of any kind.

The Federal Government has long since been working on comprehensive concepts of stability and security. We know that peace and security cannot be established with the help of the military and the police alone.

Our concept has always been that of comprehensive security: material security, social security, as well as legal security and, of course, but only in this context: military muscle. This concept, which we have already proposed and, as far as possible, implemented in the Balkan conflicts, is a genuinely European concept. We are proud to say today that the European integration project is the greatest success story of the 20th, and I believe also of the 21st, century. We would like to share this experience with all nations in the world.

However, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my pride about another matter: the solidarity which the German people have shown with the victims of terrorism and the willingness of people in our country to fight every form of extremism and terrorism are exemplary. People are very much aware of what is at stake. They are not calling for revenge and retaliation. Rather, they are prepared to defend our society and the ability of our one world to face the challenges of the future.

Let me express my heartfelt thanks to everybody.

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