Guram Goguibedashvili: ‘The only remedy for terrorism is the public’s
irreconcilability and the state’s mercilessness’
The ‘Domodedovo’ act of terror raised a tide of indignation all over the world, and Georgia is no exception. Our VK correspondent discussed the issue with Guram Goguibedashvili, professor of philosophy.
- How did this horrible event make you feel?- I feel horror and pain. People died. Usually, they say ‘innocent people’, but I think that in such cases we should forget such a definition: how can there be ‘innocent’ or ‘guilty’ victims of terrorism? I think that such definitions, accepted all over the world, sort of disorganize our moral and value system, while it should remain solid and intact. Terrorism is foul, as it is aimed at killing people. Not “innocent people”, simply people. It’s not by chance that I’ve started with this topic. Disorientation of our moral system leads to perverse attempts to ‘explain’ these atrocities and from this – there’s only one step to justifying their reasons. Sure, someone was subjected to a psychological trauma, some had a hard childhood – but that has nothing to do with a disposition towards violence. A lot of people had a hard childhood, but not all of them became terrorists. I’ve been in Domodedovo a thousand times back in the Soviet era. And rotten terrorist point of view: the suicide-bomber cried out ‘I’ll you see, this act of terror is brutal and senseless even from the very kill you all!” at the very last moment. Kill who? Russians, Germans, Tajiks, Englishmen, Ukrainians, and one of my compatriots. But it would be a mistake if we, Georgians, will start thinking “Why did he have to kill our fellow-Georgian?!” Why did he have to kill all the others? Terrorists try to impose their point of view on us, even if they themselves are unaware of it. hatred towards all humankind. If he had God inside him, he would have The one who triggered the explosion was moved by infernal hatred, found strength to fight this hatred. I’ll take the risk to sound not politically correct, but I don’t think that people are born to be terrorists.
-So how do we fight this evil?
- There are a lot of strategies and conceptions, but there is only one real remedy: the public’s irreconcilability and the state’s mercilessness. I’ve studied the history of terrorism in the Russian Empire and I asked myself: why is it that nowadays the terrorists responsible for acts of violence do not reveal themselves proudly like the Esers or the members of the ‘Narodnaya Volya’ organization after killing some tsarist officials? The answer is simple: because society has changed and does not perceive violence as heroism anymore. And this is the basis for total irreconcilability towards terrorism – the only way to get rid of this plague forever.
Interview by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi, exclusively to VK