Protecting the open society
-Klaus Bolling, Germany
The Germans have a special relationship with the United
States. It doesn't extend as far back in history as the close relationship of the British
with the "New World" and it has quite different historical and psychological
foundations. The United States, together with the Soviet Union, overthrew the Hitler
dictatorship and created the basis for the development of a democratic society in Germany
after World War II. It was the USA, who through the Marshall Plan, held out a helping hand
to rebuild the defeated and devastated Germany. It was the American who, after the
blockade of West Berlin by the Soviet Union in the summer of 1948, organized an air-lift
between the free West and the free part of the old capital, and supplied the people in
Berlin with food for months on end. That was, above and beyond the important material and
essential for survival, an act of solidarity that the older generation of Berliners, and
equally so the political class in present-day Germany, have not forgotten.
This is a very strong emotional component in German-American
relations. It also remains unforgotten that, after the collapse of the Soviet system,
President George Bush, the father of the present US President, just like Mikhail
Gorbachev, actively and resolutely promoted the national unity of Germany, which had been
split for forty years.
After the appalling events in New York and Washington, the
mourning for the victims of the terrorist act, which until a short time ago was
unimaginable even to the western secret services, was and remains a authentic, as deeply
felt and sincere in Germany as in America itself, and in all the countries that, like the
FRG, attach great importance in their constitutions to the inviolability of human dignity.
Whereby it should not be forgotten that the authors of th German Basic Law were also
inspired by the USA.
The Germans in the West have gained bitter experience
of a terrorism that pretends to serve an ideology. In one decisive point the terrorism of
the Red Army Fraction, RAF, in the mid-seventies can be compared with the attacks of the
11th September. The terrorists were quasi-religious fanatics. Unlike Meinhof, the central
figure in the RAF, originally an idealistic left-wing intellectual proclaimed the battle
cry that it was permissible to shoot at police officers without the members of the RAF
having a bad conscience about it. The list of innocent victims of RAF terror is long, and
some of the murders haven't been solved even today. In the years of terrorism, the
"time of lead", the German government, then led by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt,
forced the terrorists to give up. The RAF's aim was to shake the very foundations of the
state. The state thwarted this plan of a group that was rightly characterized as criminal,
without violating the constitutional principles of the state, which would have meant
capitulation to the fanatics. That, however, is the end of the comparison, as the RAF was
isolated from the people from the outset and was only able to count on a tiny minority of
sympathizers.
The perpetrators, diabolically calculating in their choice of
the World Trade Center in Manhattan and the Pentagon in their targets, count on sympathies
in the Islamic world, at any rate they are relying on still growing numbers of Islamists
fundamentalists and their intransigent hatred of America. Immediately after the
catastrophe, Chancellor Schroeder made clear beyond any doubt that the criminal act must
not result in suspicion of one of the great religions of this world or even in
discrimination against the Muslims. "We are not at war with any country. Neither we
are at war with the world of Islam. Terrorists have declared war on us and they will be
called to account for this. The attacks on New York and Washington," Schroeder said,
"have nothing to do with the religion, absolutely nothing." Just like other
statesmen, not only those of the western countries and the NATO allies, Schroder and all
German politicians have challenged the controversial thesis of the American author Samuel
Huntington that a clash of civilization is inevitable.
The words of the federal Chancellor were directed first of
all at his own compatriots. They were intended equally for Muslim believers, women and
men, who live in Germany as law-abiding citizens and who, as adherents of the teachings of
Koran, abhor the crime just as much as Christians and Jews. Just like the political
leaders in America, however, it was the duty of the government in Berlin to think about
where and how the security of the citizens entrusted to them can be improved and how the
battle against terrorism can be conducted with greater efficiency.
Several decades ago the philosopher Karl Popper wrote the
following in his most powerful book, his opus magnum, which is entitled "The Open
Society and its Enemies": "We demand that the state restricts freedom to a
certain extent, so that in the nd every-one's freedom is protected by the law".
Popper did not mean the politically camouflaged terrorism of our times, but a social order
in accordance with the ideas of Karl Marx. As in western democracies, Popper's reflection
will also occupy the German government and the parliament in the coming weeks and months.
After the monstrous crime of 11 September it has become evident in Germany too that the
liberal state has been too broadminded or too permissive in dealing with those Islamists
in Germany who abuse the freedom of religion.
America itself has made the painful experience that the
democratic constitutional state, which considers freedom of opinion one of its most
valuable possessions and intends to defend it, is still fundamentally and at any rate for
a lengthy period of time at a disadvantage when continued with terrorists operating out of
the dark. However, resignation would be the worst of all possible bad answers. In the
legal system of the German Core State Prussia, which ceased to exist after World War II,
the principle of commensurateness of the means was applied. This principal can't be
watered down or abandoned even after the tragedy in America. The responsible politicians
in the western world, ideally together with the moderate Arab states, must not, in the
future, be guided in their decisions by feelings of revenge. That is why the word
"war", which is being used so much in America is problematical.
Under a Lunatic like Adolph Hitler, Germany was responsible
for World War II, which claimed ten million of lives. The battle against the most brutal
form of terrorism can't be conceived and conducted in military categories. The famous
thesis of Prussian General and strategic thinker Carl von Clausewitz that war is the
continuation of politics with other means is not only useless for our present times but is
also extremely dangerous. What we require was occasionally neglected in the immediate
reaction to the horrific events, namely thinking about the causes of a terrorism that
holds human life in disdain.
It is not sufficient that the western governments isolate the
'holy-warriors', who are determined to carry out terrorist acts, from Islam, which in its
nature is peaceful and outlaws violence. These terrorist acts demand a scrupulously
considered answer to the exceedingly complex question of what took place and is still
going on in the –to our western minds-sick brains of the perpetrators and their
ideological leaders. One of the answers can only be that the United States, together with
their NATO allies and with Russia, endeavor politically to enforce a lasting solution of
the Near East conflict. However difficult that may be. A response that is restricted
merely to military measures has in the past failed to solve the problems enduringly, in
Vietnam and in the Gulf War. Conflict research, which investigates the deeper causes of
socio-economic tensions, has already provided important findings, both in Europe and in
the US. The connection between the shady sides of globalization and terror can hardly be
denied. The governments need only to take note of the scholars' insights and incorporate
them in the practical action that they take.
The author is one of the most experienced German publicists.
He has been managing producer of major German broadcasting corporations, a TV
correspondent in the US, government spokesman f the German Chancellor Schmidt and a
top-level diplomat-Chief editor. Text courtesy: Deutschland, E4 Nr.5/2001
October/November. Embassy of Germany in Kathmandu.
Safaris in Paris
-Sylvie THOMAS, France
New kinds of interactive visits to unusual places are being
organized in Paris. They are fun and informative, flexible and structured and the visitor
is guided by mobile phone.
Forget mass tourism with its air-conditioned buses and its
hordes of visitors led by a noisy guide! For a year, the young Urban Safari agency has
offered a completely new way of visiting Paris, in the form of an itinerary with some
original places to stop. The principle, using modern technology, is quite simple. The
visitor chooses a theme for his visit fixes a date, pays a flat fee and is given a place
to start from. He is then guided, step by step by messages written on his mobile phone. At
each stage, he is welcomed by partners, museums, restaurants, etc.
Active tourism: Because she had worked at Web City, a
cultural guide on the Internet, Severine Smadja, the Managing Director of Urban Safari
knew many places of tourist interest that were off the beaten track; "But they are
often neglected", this young 25 year old journalist deplores. "People say to
themselves, Hey, that looks interesting" and they forget about it…I had the idea
of looking after tourists from the beginning right to the end of a visit". This way,
tourists avoid tiringly wandering about, without being prisoners. The interactive
transmission system enables them to control the way the Safari takes place. "They can
say stop if they want to miss out a stage or send an SOS if they are lost', Severine
points out. So participants are able to manage their adventure the way they went to so
that it is a personal experience.
This flexibility is facilitated by the number of participants
and it is all the pleasanter for these people to meet as they share the same tastes which
the range of themes offered is wide enough to satisfy. The Chocosafari, for instance,
allows gourmets to meet a master chocolate-maker, do some chocolate-testing, visit a
mini-green-house of cocoa trees and try all forms of chocolate, hot, in truffles, in
cookies, in bars, in sorbets, etc. This orgy extends over four hours.
More traditional and nostalgic, RetroSafari proposes a walk
on Montmartre hill, in the heart of typical Paris with its narrow cobbled streets. This
program includes history, gastronomy and cabaret. More in the swing, TechnoSafari includes
a meeting with a professional disk jockey, a lesson in mixing, discovering the latest
trends and clubbing through the night. And SafariCigar will appeal to lovers of Cuban
rhythms.
Messages in all languages: ArtistikSafari, which is
particularly pedagogical, invites the public to discover contemporary art with meetings
with artists, museum exhibitions and tea-discussions. Ports enthusiasts will no doubt
prefer SafariFoot, with numerous encounters and visits, in particular, to the Stade de
France stadium, north of Paris. The more relaxing SafariZen is an introduction to an
organic lunch, tea-cocktails with collectors' hideouts, taking part in shooting a film,
and a film show and discussion.
Prices for all these visits range from 150 francs to 900
francs.
At the end, one has the impression of having taken part in a
kind of treasure hunt which is fun but enriching and full of surprises at every step.
There is a friendly atmosphere and people react with enthusiasm. Participants turn up
alone, in couples, with their families or with friends. Different kinds of Safaris can
also be organized on request to celebrate birthdays or other events or to meet the needs
of companies for their teams or clients. Foreign tourists who have already seen the
Chateau of Versailles and the Eiffel Tower also come and their messages are sent to them
in the language of their choice. "News of this service has spread by word of mouth
and the public has grown and become more diversifies". Severine Smadja notes, "
For football and techno, our clients are, above all, young people, whereas art concerns
mainly 30-40 year olds." Needless to say that the chocolate safari is appreciated by
all. |
