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"This is the goal," said Fred, "and here is how a leading member of the empire's elite explains it." He took his paper up again and continued to read from the transcript: "It is absolutely fundamental to British policy, to encourage the process of the 'break-up of empires.' British foreign policy, for the last 200 years, has been based on one central idea, the break-up of other empires. The idea of sowing divisions among the Arab states is axiomatic to the British Foreign Office. The Foreign Office is obsessed with breaking up the hold that Russia has on Central Asia. Look at the popularity of the books of Peter Hopkirk, such as the Great Game. There is a deep fascination with these matters in Britain. Regard any encroachment toward India or Turkey as antithetical to British interests."
At this point Fred played from the tape itself, beginning at the point where Mr. Palmerston remarked with a chuckle: "Perfidious Albion is alive and kicking. The British Foreign Office has a certain agenda, which is continued divide and rule."
The playing of the tape caused an uproar, but it also caused many of the delegates to start thinking about what terrorism is really all about.
Near the end of Fred's presentation, a lady in the seat next me burst into tears. I could sense the pain that evidently came from a deep personal tragedy caused by terrorism. I leaned over and embraced her, which seemed to stem the flow of tears somewhat. "I know this type of pain," I said to her when her tears had stopped. "I am the person who met with the man of the fondi's empire. His arrogance had caused me immense pain. The pain had stayed with me to some degree for twelve years. I saw before me the multitude of people who would be falling victim to his empire's game of terrorism that has since been unleashed in order to divide and rule humanity. Even now, whenever I read about the terrible things that go on, the pain returns because I have not been able to stop them. This pain may never go away."
I felt very close to the woman as we left the hall. It was a kinship based on the unity of struggles and agony, though I didn't even know her name.
I told Fred afterwards that the speech fell far short of what it should have accomplished. I told him that everything considered, it was nothing more than a gripe session. "It was a string of complaints, even valid complaints, but you didn't offer any help to people that could transform their thinking to lift them to a higher plateau where they find themselves empowered to do something towards actually changing the world. You presented nothing in terms of a higher fundamental principle. You brought out your whipping boy and you flogged him in public."
Fred was shocked, but agreed that it was so. He said that he merely wanted to bring into the open that the conference agenda was set up to be counterproductive. He wanted people to question the agenda, ruminate over it, turn it down in their own mind, and so prepare the stage for the next step, whatever that might be. Fred said that his goal was to prevent any serious discussion from breaking out in support of property rights. "Once you get trapped into focusing on emotional issues that are not supported by any fundamental principle, you become trapped into a loop that you can't get out of."
In this regard he was right, I had to agree. In any case, Fred was by far the most talked about person at the conference after his speech; that is, until Tony took that honor from him. Except for this to happen, something else had to happen first, and remarkably, Antonovna who wasn't even present at the conference started that.
I knew that Antonovna hadn't come. A gentleman from the Russian delegation, who still recognized me after all those years, gave me a letter from her right after the conference had opened.
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