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<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Dear All,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Something to be read in the coming
holidays season - the Nobel lecture by the laurate Harold Pinter at the
ceremony in Stockholm </FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT color=#0000ff>Best Wishes for the
Season,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT color=#0000ff>Mustafa Hussain</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT color=#0000ff>Copenhagen</FONT></DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT>
<P class=normaltext><EM>...Political language, as used by politicians, does not
venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the
evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the
maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people
remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of
their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon
which we feed.</EM></P><BR><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --><BR><!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<P>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Harold Pinter - Nobel
Lecture</SPAN></FONT></B><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Art, Truth &
Politics</SPAN></FONT></B><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture-e.html"
target=_blank>http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture-e.html</A></SPAN></FONT></B><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In 1958 I wrote the
following:</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'There are no hard
distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true
and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be
both true and false.' </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I believe that these
assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality
through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a
citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false? </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Truth in drama is
forever elusive. You never quite find it but the search for it is compulsive.
The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task. More
often than not you stumble upon the truth in the dark, colliding with it or just
glimpsing an image or a shape which seems to correspond to the truth, often
without realising that you have done so. But the real truth is that there never
is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many.
These truths challenge each other, recoil from each other, reflect each other,
ignore each other, tease each other, are blind to each other. Sometimes you feel
you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers
and is lost. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I have often been
asked how my plays come about. I cannot say. Nor can I ever sum up my plays,
except to say that this is what happened. That is what they said. That is what
they did. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Most of the plays
are engendered by a line, a word or an image. The given word is often shortly
followed by the image. I shall give two examples of two lines which came right
out of the blue into my head, followed by an image, followed by me.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The plays are The
Homecoming and Old Times. The first line of The Homecoming is 'What have you
done with the scissors?' The first line of Old Times is 'Dark.'
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In each case I had
no further information.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In the first case
someone was obviously looking for a pair of scissors and was demanding their
whereabouts of someone else he suspected had probably stolen them. But I somehow
knew that the person addressed didn't give a damn about the scissors or about
the questioner either, for that matter. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'Dark' I took to be
a description of someone's hair, the hair of a woman, and was the answer to a
question. In each case I found myself compelled to pursue the matter. This
happened visually, a very slow fade, through shadow into light.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I always start a
play by calling the characters A, B and C.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In the play that
became The Homecoming I saw a man enter a stark room and ask his question of a
younger man sitting on an ugly sofa reading a racing paper. I somehow suspected
that A was a father and that B was his son, but I had no proof. This was however
confirmed a short time later when B (later to become Lenny) says to A (later to
become Max), 'Dad, do you mind if I change the subject? I want to ask you
something. The dinner we had before, what was the name of it? What do you call
it? Why don't you buy a dog? You're a dog cook. Honest. You think you're cooking
for a lot of dogs.' So since B calls A 'Dad' it seemed to me reasonable to
assume that they were father and son. A was also clearly the cook and his
cooking did not seem to be held in high regard. Did this mean that there was no
mother? I didn't know. But, as I told myself at the time, our beginnings never
know our ends. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'Dark.' A large
window. Evening sky. A man, A (later to become Deeley), and a woman, B (later to
become Kate), sitting with drinks. 'Fat or thin?' the man asks. Who are they
talking about? But I then see, standing at the window, a woman, C (later to
become Anna), in another condition of light, her back to them, her hair dark.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It's a strange
moment, the moment of creating characters who up to that moment have had no
existence. What follows is fitful, uncertain, even hallucinatory, although
sometimes it can be an unstoppable avalanche. The author's position is an odd
one. In a sense he is not welcomed by the characters. The characters resist him,
they are not easy to live with, they are impossible to define. You certainly
can't dictate to them. To a certain extent you play a never-ending game with
them, cat and mouse, blind man's buff, hide and seek. But finally you find that
you have people of flesh and blood on your hands, people with will and an
individual sensibility of their own, made out of component parts you are unable
to change, manipulate or distort. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">So language in art
remains a highly ambiguous transaction, a quicksand, a trampoline, a frozen pool
which might give way under you, the author, at any time.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">But as I have said,
the search for the truth can never stop. It cannot be adjourned, it cannot be
postponed. It has to be faced, right there, on the spot.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Political theatre
presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at
all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe
their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own
taste or disposition or prejudice. He must be prepared to approach them from a
variety of angles, from a full and uninhibited range of perspectives, take them
by surprise, perhaps, occasionally, but nevertheless give them the freedom to go
which way they will. This does not always work. And political satire, of course,
adheres to none of these precepts, in fact does precisely the opposite, which is
its proper function. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In my play The
Birthday Party I think I allow a whole range of options to operate in a dense
forest of possibility before finally focussing on an act of subjugation.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Mountain Language
pretends to no such range of operation. It remains brutal, short and ugly. But
the soldiers in the play do get some fun out of it. One sometimes forgets that
torturers become easily bored. They need a bit of a laugh to keep their spirits
up. This has been confirmed of course by the events at Abu Ghraib in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:City><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Baghdad</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. Mountain Language lasts only 20 minutes,
but it could go on for hour after hour, on and on and on, the same pattern
repeated over and over again, on and on, hour after hour.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Ashes to Ashes, on
the other hand, seems to me to be taking place under water. A drowning woman,
her hand reaching up through the waves, dropping down out of sight, reaching for
others, but finding nobody there, either above or under the water, finding only
shadows, reflections, floating; the woman a lost figure in a drowning landscape,
a woman unable to escape the doom that seemed to belong only to others.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">But as they died,
she must die too.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Political language,
as used by politicians, does not venture into any of this territory since the
majority of politicians, on the evidence available to us, are interested not in
truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power
it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of
the truth, even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a
vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">As every single
person here knows, the justification for the invasion of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> was that Saddam Hussein possessed a highly
dangerous body of weapons of mass destruction, some of which could be fired in
45 minutes, bringing about appalling devastation. We were assured that was true.
It was not true. We were told that
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> had a relationship with Al Quaeda and
shared responsibility for the atrocity in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:State><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">New York</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:State><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> of </SPAN></FONT><st1:date Year="2001"
Day="11" Month="9"><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">September 11th
2001</SPAN></FONT></st1:date><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. We
were assured that this was true. It was not true. We were told that
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> threatened the security of the world. We
were assured it was true. It was not true.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The truth is
something entirely different. The truth is to do with how the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> understands its role in the world and how it chooses to
embody it.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">But before I come
back to the present I would like to look at the recent past, by which I mean
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> foreign policy since the end of the Second World War. I
believe it is obligatory upon us to subject this period to at least some kind of
even limited scrutiny, which is all that time will allow here.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Everyone knows what
happened in the </SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Soviet Union</SPAN></FONT></st1:place> <FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">and throughout
</SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Eastern
Europe</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
during the post-war period: the systematic brutality, the widespread atrocities,
the ruthless suppression of independent thought. All this has been fully
documented and verified. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">But my contention
here is that the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> crimes in the same period have only been
superficially recorded, let alone documented, let alone acknowledged, let alone
recognised as crimes at all. I believe this must be addressed and that the truth
has considerable bearing on where the world stands now. Although constrained, to
a certain extent, by the existence of the </SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Soviet Union</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">' actions throughout the world made it clear that it had
concluded it had carte blanche to do what it liked.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Direct invasion of a
sovereign state has never in fact been
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">America</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region>
<FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'s favoured method. In the main, it
has preferred what it has described as 'low intensity conflict'. Low intensity
conflict means that thousands of people die but slower than if you dropped a
bomb on them in one fell swoop. It means that you infect the heart of the
country, that you establish a malignant growth and watch the gangrene bloom.
When the populace has been subdued - or beaten to death - the same thing - and
your own friends, the military and the great corporations, sit comfortably in
power, you go before the camera and say that democracy has prevailed. This was a
commonplace in US foreign policy in the years to which I refer.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The tragedy of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> was a highly significant case. I choose to
offer it here as a potent example of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">America</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'s view of its role in the world, both then
and now.</SPAN></FONT> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I was present at a
meeting at the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> embassy in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:City><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">London</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> in the late
1980s.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The United States
Congress was about to decide whether to give more money to the Contras in their
campaign against the state of </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. I was a member of a delegation speaking
on behalf of </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> but the most important member of this
delegation was a Father John Metcalf. The leader of the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> body was Raymond Seitz (then number two to
the ambassador, later ambassador himself). Father Metcalf said: 'Sir, I am in
charge of a parish in the north of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. My parishioners built a school, a health
centre, a cultural centre. We have lived in peace. A few months ago a Contra
force attacked the parish. They destroyed everything: the school, the health
centre, the cultural centre. They raped nurses and teachers, slaughtered
doctors, in the most brutal manner. They behaved like savages. Please demand
that the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> government withdraw its support from this
shocking terrorist activity.'</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Raymond Seitz had a
very good reputation as a rational, responsible and highly sophisticated man. He
was greatly respected in diplomatic circles. He listened, paused and then spoke
with some gravity. 'Father,' he said, 'let me tell you something. In war,
innocent people always suffer.' There was a frozen silence. We stared at him. He
did not flinch. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Innocent people,
indeed, always suffer.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Finally somebody
said: 'But in this case "innocent people" were the victims of a gruesome
atrocity subsidised by your government, one among many. If Congress allows the
Contras more money further atrocities of this kind will take place. Is this not
the case? Is your government not therefore guilty of supporting acts of murder
and destruction upon the citizens of a sovereign state?'
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Seitz was
imperturbable. 'I don't agree that the facts as presented support your
assertions,' he said. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">As we were leaving
the Embassy a </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> aide told me that he enjoyed my plays. I
did not reply.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I should remind you
that at the time President Reagan made the following statement: 'The Contras are
the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.' </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> supported the brutal Somoza dictatorship in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> for over 40 years. The Nicaraguan people,
led by the Sandinistas, overthrew this regime in 1979, a breathtaking popular
revolution. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The Sandinistas
weren't perfect. They possessed their fair share of arrogance and their
political philosophy contained a number of contradictory elements. But they were
intelligent, rational and civilised. They set out to establish a stable, decent,
pluralistic society. The death penalty was abolished. Hundreds of thousands of
poverty-stricken peasants were brought back from the dead. Over 100,000 families
were given title to land. Two thousand schools were built. A quite remarkable
literacy campaign reduced illiteracy in the country to less than one seventh.
Free education was established and a free health service. Infant mortality was
reduced by a third. Polio was eradicated. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> denounced these achievements as Marxist/Leninist
subversion. In the view of the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> government, a dangerous example was being
set. If </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> was allowed to establish basic norms of
social and economic justice, if it was allowed to raise the standards of health
care and education and achieve social unity and national self respect,
neighbouring countries would ask the same questions and do the same things.
There was of course at the time fierce resistance to the status quo in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">El
Salvador</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I spoke earlier
about 'a tapestry of lies' which surrounds us. President Reagan commonly
described </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> as a 'totalitarian dungeon'. This was
taken generally by the media, and certainly by the British government, as
accurate and fair comment. But there was in fact no record of death squads under
the Sandinista government. There was no record of torture. There was no record
of systematic or official military brutality. No priests were ever murdered in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Nicaragua</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. There were in fact three priests in the
government, two Jesuits and a Maryknoll missionary. The totalitarian dungeons
were actually next door, in </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">El
Salvador</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> and </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guatemala</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> had brought down the democratically elected government
of </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guatemala</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> in 1954 and it is estimated that over
200,000 people had been victims of successive military dictatorships.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Six of the most
distinguished Jesuits in the world were viciously murdered at the Central
American University in </SPAN></FONT><st1:City><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">San Salvador</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> in 1989 by a battalion of the Alcatl
regiment trained at </SPAN></FONT><st1:place><st1:City><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Fort Benning</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> , </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Georgia</SPAN></FONT></st1:country-region></st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">,
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">USA</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. That extremely brave man Archbishop
Romero was assassinated while saying mass. It is estimated that 75,000 people
died. Why were they killed? They were killed because they believed a better life
was possible and should be achieved. That belief immediately qualified them as
communists. They died because they dared to question the status quo, the endless
plateau of poverty, disease, degradation and oppression, which had been their
birthright. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> finally brought down the Sandinista government. It took
some years and considerable resistance but relentless economic persecution and
30,000 dead finally undermined the spirit of the Nicaraguan people. They were
exhausted and poverty stricken once again. The casinos moved back into the
country. Free health and free education were over. Big business returned with a
vengeance. 'Democracy' had prevailed. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">But this 'policy'
was by no means restricted to </SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Central America</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> . It was conducted throughout the world.
It was never-ending. And it is as if it never
happened.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> supported and in many cases engendered every right wing
military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I
refer to Indonesia , Greece, Uruguay , Brazil , Paraguay, Haiti , Turkey , the
Philippines, Guatemala , El Salvador , and, of course, Chile . The horror the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> inflicted upon
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Chile</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> in 1973 can never be purged and can never
be forgiven. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Hundreds of
thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place?
And are they in all cases attributable to
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> foreign policy? The answer is yes they did
take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you
wouldn't know it.</SPAN></FONT> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It never happened.
Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn't happening. It
didn't matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless,
but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">America</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. It has exercised a quite clinical
manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal
good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I put to you that
the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> is without doubt the greatest show on the road. Brutal,
indifferent, scornful and ruthless it may be but it is also very clever. As a
salesman it is out on its own and its most saleable commodity is self love. It's
a winner. Listen to all American presidents on television say the words, 'the
American people', as in the sentence, 'I say to the American people it is time
to pray and to defend the rights of the American people and I ask the American
people to trust their president in the action he is about to take on behalf of
the American people.' </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It's a scintillating
stratagem. Language is actually employed to keep thought at bay. The words 'the
American people' provide a truly voluptuous cushion of reassurance. You don't
need to think. Just lie back on the cushion. The cushion may be suffocating your
intelligence and your critical faculties but it's very comfortable. This does
not apply of course to the 40 million people living below the poverty line and
the 2 million men and women imprisoned in the vast gulag of prisons, which
extends across the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">US</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> no longer bothers about low intensity conflict. It no
longer sees any point in being reticent or even devious. It puts its cards on
the table without fear or favour. It quite simply doesn't give a damn about the
United Nations, international law or critical dissent, which it regards as
impotent and irrelevant. It also has its own bleating little lamb tagging behind
it on a lead, the pathetic and supine
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Great
Britain</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">What has happened to
our moral sensibility? Did we ever have any? What do these words mean? Do they
refer to a term very rarely employed these days - conscience? A conscience to do
not only with our own acts but to do with our shared responsibility in the acts
of others? Is all this dead? Look at
</SPAN></FONT><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guantanamo</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceName><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><st1:PlaceType><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Bay</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. Hundreds of people detained without
charge for over three years, with no legal representation or due process,
technically detained forever. This totally illegitimate structure is maintained
in defiance of the Geneva Convention. It is not only tolerated but hardly
thought about by what's called the 'international community'. This criminal
outrage is being committed by a country, which declares itself to be 'the leader
of the free world'. Do we think about the inhabitants of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guantanamo</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceName><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><st1:PlaceType><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Bay</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">? What does the media say about them? They
pop up occasionally - a small item on page six. They have been consigned to a no
man's land from which indeed they may never return. At present many are on
hunger strike, being force-fed, including British residents. No niceties in
these force-feeding procedures. No sedative or anaesthetic. Just a tube stuck up
your nose and into your throat. You vomit blood. This is torture. What has the
British Foreign Secretary said about this? Nothing. What has the British Prime
Minister said about this? Nothing. Why not? Because the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> has said: to criticise our conduct in
</SPAN></FONT><st1:City><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guantanamo</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Bay constitutes an unfriendly act. You're
either with us or against us. So Blair shuts up. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The invasion of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> was a bandit act, an act of blatant state
terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law.
The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon
lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act
intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the
</SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Middle
East</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
masquerading - as a last resort - all other justifications having failed to
justify themselves - as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force
responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent
people. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">We have brought
torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder,
misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom
and democracy to the </SPAN></FONT><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Middle East</SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">How many people do
you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war
criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought.
Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International
Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the
International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or
for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he
will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore
available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're
interested. It is Number 10, </SPAN></FONT><st1:address><st1:Street><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Downing
Street</SPAN></FONT></st1:Street><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">,
</SPAN></FONT><st1:City><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">London</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:address><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Death in this
context is irrelevant. Both Bush and Blair place death well away on the back
burner. At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles
before the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> insurgency began. These people are of no
moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank. They are not even recorded as
being dead. 'We don't do body counts,' said the American general Tommy Franks.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Early in the
invasion there was a photograph published on the front page of British
newspapers of Tony Blair kissing the cheek of a little Iraqi boy. 'A grateful
child,' said the caption. A few days later there was a story and photograph, on
an inside page, of another four-year-old boy with no arms. His family had been
blown up by a missile. He was the only survivor. 'When do I get my arms back?'
he asked. The story was dropped. Well, Tony Blair wasn't holding him in his
arms, nor the body of any other mutilated child, nor the body of any bloody
corpse. Blood is dirty. It dirties your shirt and tie when you're making a
sincere speech on television. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The 2,000 American
dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark.
Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds,
some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in
different kinds of graves. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Here is an extract
from a poem by Pablo Neruda, 'I'm Explaining a Few Things':</SPAN></FONT>
<o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">And one morning all that was
burning,</SPAN></FONT></I> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">one morning the
bonfires</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">leapt out of the
earth</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">devouring human
beings</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and from then on
fire,</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">gunpowder from then
on,</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and from then on
blood.</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Bandits with planes and
Moors,</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">bandits with finger-rings and
duchesses,</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">bandits with black friars spattering
blessings </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">came through the sky to kill
children</SPAN></FONT></I> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and the blood of children ran
through the streets </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">without fuss, like children's
blood.</SPAN></FONT></I> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Jackals that the jackals would
despise</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">stones that the dry thistle would
bite on and spit out, </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">vipers that the vipers would
abominate.</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Face to face with you I have seen
the blood</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">of
</SPAN></FONT></I><st1:country-region><st1:place><I><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Spain</SPAN></FONT></I></st1:place></st1:country-region><I><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> tower like a tide
</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">to drown you in one
wave</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">of pride and
knives.</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Treacherous</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">generals:</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">see my dead
house,</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">look at broken
</SPAN></FONT></I><st1:country-region><st1:place><I><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Spain</SPAN></FONT></I></st1:place></st1:country-region><I><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">
:</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">from every house burning metal
flows</SPAN></FONT></I> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">instead of
flowers</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">from every socket of
</SPAN></FONT></I><st1:country-region><st1:place><I><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Spain</SPAN></FONT></I></st1:place></st1:country-region><I><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">
</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><st1:country-region><st1:place><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Spain</SPAN></FONT></I></st1:place></st1:country-region><I><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></I><I><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">emerges</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and from every dead child a rifle
with eyes</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and from every crime bullets are
born</SPAN></FONT></I> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">which will one day
find</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">the bull's eye of your
hearts.</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">And you will ask: why doesn't his
poetry</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">speak of dreams and
leaves</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">and the great volcanoes of his
native land.</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> </SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Come and see the blood in the
streets.</SPAN></FONT> </I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Come and
see</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">the blood in the
streets.</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Come and see the
blood</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">in the
streets!*</SPAN></FONT></I><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Let me make it quite
clear that in quoting from Neruda's poem I am in no way comparing Republican
Spain to Saddam Hussein's </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Iraq</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. I quote Neruda because nowhere in
contemporary poetry have I read such a powerful visceral description of the
bombing of civilians.</SPAN></FONT> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I have said earlier
that the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> is now totally frank about putting its cards on the
table. That is the case. Its official declared policy is now defined as 'full
spectrum dominance'. That is not my term, it is theirs. 'Full spectrum
dominance' means control of land, sea, air and space and all attendant
resources. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> now occupies 702 military installations throughout the
world in 132 countries, with the honourable exception of
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Sweden</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, of course. We don't quite know how they
got there but they are there all right. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The
</SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> possesses 8,000 active and operational nuclear
warheads. Two thousand are on hair trigger alert, ready to be launched with 15
minutes warning. It is developing new systems of nuclear force, known as bunker
busters. The British, ever cooperative, are intending to replace their own
nuclear missile, Trident. Who, I wonder, are they aiming at? Osama bin Laden?
You? Me? Joe Dokes? </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">China</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">? </SPAN></FONT><st1:City><st1:place><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Paris</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">? Who knows? What we do know is that this
infantile insanity - the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons - is
at the heart of present American political philosophy. We must remind ourselves
that the </SPAN></FONT><st1:country-region><st1:place><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">United
States</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:country-region><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> is on a permanent military footing and shows no sign of
relaxing it.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Many thousands, if
not millions, of people in the United States itself are demonstrably sickened,
shamed and angered by their government's actions, but as things stand they are
not a coherent political force - yet. But the anxiety, uncertainty and fear
which we can see growing daily in the United States is unlikely to
diminish.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I know that
President Bush has many extremely competent speech writers but I would like to
volunteer for the job myself. I propose the following short address which he can
make on television to the nation. I see him grave, hair carefully combed,
serious, winning, sincere, often beguiling, sometimes employing a wry smile,
curiously attractive, a man's man. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">'God is good. God is
great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God.
Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not
barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does
God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a
freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate
electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am
not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I
possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And
don't you forget it.' </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">A writer's life is a
highly vulnerable, almost naked activity. We don't have to weep about that. The
writer makes his choice and is stuck with it. But it is true to say that you are
open to all the winds, some of them icy indeed. You are out on your own, out on
a limb. You find no shelter, no protection - unless you lie - in which case of
course you have constructed your own protection and, it could be argued, become
a politician. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I have referred to
death quite a few times this evening. I shall now quote a poem of my own called
'Death'. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Where was the dead
body found?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Who found the dead
body?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Was the dead body
dead when found?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">How was the dead
body found?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Who was the dead
body?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Who was the father
or daughter or brother</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Or uncle or sister
or mother or son</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Of the dead and
abandoned body?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Was the body dead
when abandoned?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Was the body
abandoned?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">By whom had it been
abandoned?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Was the dead body
naked or dressed for a journey?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">What made you
declare the dead body dead?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you declare the
dead body dead?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">How well did you
know the dead body?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">How did you know the
dead body was dead?</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you wash the
dead body</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you close both
its eyes</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you bury the
body</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you leave it
abandoned</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><EM><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Did you kiss the
dead body</SPAN></FONT></I></EM><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">When we look into a
mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. But move a millimetre
and the image changes. We are actually looking at a never-ending range of
reflections. But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror - for it is on the
other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I believe that
despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce
intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives
and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in
fact mandatory. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">If such a
determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of
restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man.
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</SPAN></FONT>
<o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">* Extract from "I'm
Explaining a Few Things" translated by Nathaniel Tarn, from Pablo Neruda:
Selected Poems, published by Jonathan Cape, London 1970. Used by permission of
The Random House Group Limited.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --><BR><TT><BR></TT></BODY></HTML>