Justice must be brought 'without innocents suffering' - Hume

The United States government is right to bring the Taliban and its allies to justice but must do so without inflicting suffering on innocent people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate John Hume said today.

The outgoing SDLP leader, who won the Nobel prize in 1998 with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble for their efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland, said September 11’s terror attacks on New York and Washington were ‘‘catastrophic’’.

Expressing his condolences again to US President George W Bush and the American nation in his last speech as party leader to the SDLP’s annual conference in Newcastle, Co Down, Mr Hume noted the United States was ‘‘built upon the principles of liberty and freedom and democracy and justice’’.

He argued: ‘‘It is absolutely right that in the defence of those principles the US should seek to bring those responsible to justice but they must do so without causing suffering among innocent people.

‘‘It is essential that those same principles by which the American people live are now afforded to the people of Afghanistan.’’

Mr Hume told about 500 party activists that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was ‘‘simply staggering’’.

Sixty-four per cent of Afghans were illiterate, he said.

Eighty five per cent of women in the country could not read. Seventy per cent of the population was undernourished. Less than a third of Afghan children were enrolled at school and girls were banned from attending school at all.

‘‘In the past 22 years of war, one million people have died,’’ the Foyle MP said.

‘‘There are six million refugees and tonight in Afghanistan, the temperature may fall as low as minus 25 degrees.

‘‘In simple terms, Afghanistan is a humanitarian disaster zone.

‘‘The US and its allies are right to try to bring the Taliban regime and its allies to justice.

‘‘But even more, the present humanitarian situation also makes the strong demand that every effort be made by those of us in the world who cherish freedom to ensure that the necessary aid is given immediately to the innocent people of Afghanistan at this time and for the future.’’