Toespraak van Yves Leterme op de herdenking van 11 september 2001 in Brussel

Monseigneur en Mevrouw,
Excellenties in uw titels en hoedanigheden,
Dames en Heren

Monseigneur et Madame
Excellences dans vos titres et qualités
Mesdames et Messieurs

We all remember the date of 9/11. But just remembering is not enough. We must realize what happened that day, why thousands of innocent people were killed, maimed, made homeless. Because only by remembering well can we work on a future from which this kind of senseless killing will be banned.

What happened ten years ago was an act of hate. It was not an act of protest inspired by poverty or injustice or war. It was an act of hate, not against what America does but against what America is. It was an attack on the freedoms and values we all of us hold dear, values based on the bedrock of our belief in the dignity and equality of all human beings, irrespective of their origin or colour or creed.

What made the attacks particularly ignominious is that the perpetrators invoked God and religion to justify them.
We who are assembled here pray to God under different names. But we all pray to one God, to a merciful and just God. And, as has been said very movingly by the representatives here of different faiths, a just and merciful God does not condone, and does certainly not call for the murder of innocent people. Those who pretend and act otherwise destroy the integrity of their faith.

Therefore, we are not just assembled here to remember and honour those who died, and those brave men and women who risked their life, and often gave their life, to save others. Above all, we are gathered here to celebrate life, not death; to celebrate dialogue, not revenge; to celebrate human understanding, not hatred. We are gathered here to say very clearly that we all belong to the same humanity.

Differences of religious and philosophical persuasions, of customs and traditions can and should be questioned and debated, for the confrontation of ideas can prove fruitful and productive. But this confrontation should always be peaceful because that is what our common humanity needs: peace and love of life.

Paix, shaloom, salaam, c'est pour cela que nous sommes rassemblés ici, pour célébrer non pas la mort mais la vie, non pas la haine mais le dialogue, pour célébrer la paix dont a besoin cette humanité à laquelle nous appartenons tous.

Vrede, shaloom, salaam. Daarom zijn wij hier vandaag bijeen, om niet de dood te huldigen, maar het leven ; niet de haat maar de dialoog ; om de vrede te belijden die broodnodig is voor de mensheid waartoe wij allen behoren.