RIO DE JANEIRO: I can understand the shock the July bombings caused in Britain. I have lived in London, and we want to show solidarity in the fight against terror. But in Brazil we were also shocked that an innocent Brazilian could be mistaken for a terrorist and shot dead by the police. I want to avoid strong words, but this was a tragic mistake, to say the least. It was a case of summary execution of the wrong person.
Even when you are dealing with someone accused of a crime, that person has a right to defend his or her case before the law. Jean de Menezes was not even accused of anything — he was simply the wrong man.
I don’t want to pass judgment on how the police acted. I hope the results of the independent commission will explain to us what happened. Perhaps it is the police’s method that should be questioned. We owe it to the cause of human rights to ensure that we do not attack the innocent, otherwise we will be helping the terrorists, who want to create a climate of insecurity. Now peaceful citizens are not only afraid of suicide bombs, but also of the police.
Jack Straw said that since terrorism is becoming international, the norms also have to be international. I understand the rules of engagement in the Menezes case have never been discussed anywhere else. I am not saying it is not the sovereign right of the UK to establish its rules of engagement. But for authentic cooperation, we will have to discuss them as well.
I hope we will continue to have a dialogue, and that the Menezes family will be adequately assisted. There is the question of the financial reparations the British government owes the family, and the question of moral reparations also concerns the Brazilian nation. These reparations will only be final when this action is condemned. You cannot close the case until there is a full investigation. If court action needs to be taken, then that has to happen.
We have to work on how to address terrorism without endangering human rights.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service
