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Bush urges APEC leaders to combat terrorist threat

US President George W. Bush yesterday urged Pacific Rim leaders attending the APEC summit to fight terrorism and to put measures in place to stem the global economic slowdown.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US were not just aimed at the US but at the world system, Bush told attending businessmen and officials at the CEO summit of the weeklong APEC meetings in Shanghai.

"Our enemies are murderers with global reach. They seek weapons on a global scale. Every nation must oppose this enemy, or be, in turn, its target," Bush said.

"The terrorists tried to shatter confidence in the world economic system, but they failed," Bush said.

"The terrorists hoped world markets would collapse. But the markets have proved their resilience and fundamental strength."

The US president also assured his audience that the US would do its part to restore global economic momentum.

Bush said the market-based system embraced by a majority of APEC countries "has brought more prosperity more quickly to more people than at any time in human history," adding the Asia-Pacific region was "demonstrating the power and appeal of markets and trade."

Despite the present economic downturn, there were many encouraging signs, Bush said.

"Reform programs have been put into place in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. China and Taiwan have made great strides as they prepare for WTO membership," Bush said.

Despite showing his resolve to seek support, both material and moral, from other nations in the US-led efforts countering terrorism, Bush said the rights of minorities should not be undermined.

"All people, of every religious and ethnic group, have the right to participate in their nation's political life. No government should use our war against terrorism as an excuse to persecute minorities within their borders," Bush said.

The statement indicated Bush's reservations about China's repression of Xinjiang separatists' and Russia's actions in Chechnya.

"Ethnic minorities must know that their rights will be safeguarded, that their churches and temples and mosques belong to them," Bush said.
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