ted. Kirsch said that there were still ''uncertainties'' on how to deal with several complex issues, including the exact nature of the offence, the materials or facilities to be included, and the scope of the proposed new convention. The Committee also remained divided over the need for a clear- cut definition of ''terrorists'' as against ''freedom fighters.'' ''One man's liberation fighter always can be another man's terrorist,'' one-Third World remarked, repeating an old adage. Muhammad Najm Akbar of Pakistan argued that no discussion of terrorist activities would be complete without a consensus on the definition of terrorism. It was also important to address the underlying causes of terrorism, he added. Ghassan Obeid of Syria pointed out that the draft convention under discussion only addressed terrorism by individuals. ''The Committee should keep in mind that terrorism could also involve terrorist acts by states, especially in the case of nuclear terrorism. It is usually impossible for the average individual to use nuclear weapons without the support of states,'' he said. Sankurathripati Rama Rao of India said his country welcomed all efforts to eliminate and counter terrorism. ''Existing conventions and legal instruments were not comprehensive enough to counter terrorism, which had established a global network,'' he noted. India welcomed the introduction of the draft convention by Russia and supported the initiative for any legal instrument to counter any manifestation of terrorism. Alexandre Zmeevski of Russia said the draft sponsored by his country encompasses the broadest possible definition of terrorist acts related to the use, or threat of use, of nuclear components. Since the break up of the former Soviet Union, the world has continued to face the threat of ''loose nukes''. In a U.S. television interview last year, Alexander Lebed, a Soviet war hero and former national security chief under President Boris Yeltsin, said there ...
