The International Campaign for Tibet condemns the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which took thousands of innocent lives. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims as well as their friends and colleagues.

The greatest honor the United States could bestow upon the victims and upon our scarred society, is to show that a profound dedication to justice and the rule of law can prevail over violence. The perpetrators of this cruelty must be brought to justice but the United States must not respond in ways that bring suffering on other innocent people. We urge the U.S. Government, in the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, not allow itself to be drawn into a “cycle of violence.”

Our greatest triumph as a people, a country and a world will be to turn this tragedy into an enduring commitment by all peoples and countries to renounce violence and to resolve conflicts peacefully. Tibetans and so many other peoples look to the United States.

Also, we must be vigilant not to associate terrorism with any ethnicity, nationality or religion. Right now, Arab-Americans are facing reprisals and discrimination. This is a time for Americans to show to the world that we will not let terrorism cloud our judgment of fellow Americans or take away our hard-won civil liberties.

We are also concerned that China may take advantage of this situation by citing rare violent incidents to further crack down on the Tibetan nonviolent resistance movement. The U.S. Government should guard against an anti-terrorism coalition’s being used as an excuse by countries to suppress legitimate, nonviolent dissent.

The International Campaign for Tibet calls on its 80,000 members to actively take part in assisting the victims of this tragedy and rededicate themselves towards promoting the peaceful resolution of international conflicts.