Iran’s Khatami says roots of terror must be examined after Beslan

Iran’s Khatami says roots of terror must be examined after Beslan

Agence France Presse — English
September 8, 2004 Wednesday

YEREVAN Sept 8 — Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday
reaffirmed his condemnation of the Beslan hostage tragedy but added
that the root causes of terror could be found in the “discrimination”
of peoples.

“Without looking at the roots it is impossible to fight terrorism.

The roots can be found in the same places where security forces impose
a discriminatory policy and people suffer from this,” said Khatami
following talks here with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian.

“Unable to find an adequate response to this fight they (discriminated
people) take harsh steps. This is why when you condemn terrorism you
must also condemn violence,” he added.

Although he did not refer explicitly to any particular region, his
comments appeared to refer to the strife-torn Russian republic of
Chechnya, where Moscow’s troops have been locked in a decade-long
war with rebels amid allegations of human rights violations.

However he also spoke out against the way “certain terrorists want
to present their acts under the mask of religion. They besmirch the
religions that preach peace and humanism.”