Posted on 03/31/2002 7:12:03 PM PST by kattracks
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 31, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Muslim nations opened a major conference on terrorism Monday, with Malaysia's leader calling for agreement that any attack on civilians - by the Sept. 11 hijackers or Israel's military or Palestinian suicide bombers - be labeled an act of terror.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a vital U.S. ally in the campaign to crack Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, said that a declaration expected to emerge from the three-day meeting should lay the basis for the United Nations to define terrorism and condemn perpetrators.
"Muslims everywhere must condemn terrorism, once it is clearly defined," Mahathir said. "Bitter and angry though we may be, we must demonstrate to the world that Muslims are rational people when fighting for our rights and we do not resort to acts of terror."
The gathering of foreign ministers and other officials representing the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference comes amid escalating bloodshed in the Mideast. Palestinian suicide bombings killed 15 Israelis on Sunday and Israeli troops deepened their invasion of the West Bank.
Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving leader, took a bold line at an all-Muslim meeting by condemning the Palestinian suicide bombings as terrorism - though he urged the world to address the frustrations that have led to the attacks.
"I don't think people would want to blast themselves to death simply because they enjoy doing so," Mahathir said.
Mahathir has long been one of the developing world's most articulate spokesmen and has worked since Sept. 11 to push the United Nations to find a definition of terrorism that member states can agree on, and then hold violators - governments included - accountable.
Israel's killings of Palestinian civilians could quickly fall under the definition, which would likely be resisted in any forum including the United States, Israel's chief backer.
"Armed attacks or other forms of attack against civilians must be regarded as acts of terror, and the perpetrators regarded as terrorists ... irrespective of the justification of the operations carried out, irrespective of the nobility of the struggle," Mahathir said.
The definition fits the Sept. 11 attacks, suicide bombings by the Palestinians, similar operations by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, attacks against civilians by Israeli forces and the massacres of Bosnian Muslims during the Yugoslav civil war, Mahathir said.
"Where states are behind the acts of terrorism, the whole government must stand condemned," he said.
The Sept. 11 attacks, blamed on Saudi-born Islamic radical bin Laden and his al-Qaida group, were an "unmitigated disaster" for the world's estimated 1.2 billion Muslims, with the religion becoming increasingly perceived as rooted in violence, Mahathir said.
Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and other groups have produced terrorists and singling out one religion was unfair, he said.
The Malaysian leader, who presides over a prosperous, moderate Southeast Asian country of 23 million people, said that an international agreement is needed to define terrorism so world leaders will have a basis for taking unified action.
"There is no authority more competent than the United Nations to make these decisions," Mahathir said. "Once the U.N. has decided, the whole world must cooperate fully."
Malaysia has jailed 24 people accused of involvement in an al-Qaida-linked plot to blow up U.S. targets in Singapore. They include a former army captain who briefly hosted two of the Sept. 11 hijackers at his apartment in 2000.
By ROHAN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Sounds right to me.
FWIW, I don't care how "weak" you think this statement is, this Malaysian representative made a GUTSY move, and I applaud him.
Even daring to PUBLICLY label Palestinian bombers--or even the 9/11 monsters--as terrorists is a brave thing to do publicly in that part of the world.
Hope it's a sign of a crack in the facade.
Yup. A day of INFAMY that will last for generations. (..and rightly so!)
The fact that this issue is even debated in the Muslim world shows us what barbarians they are.
We have seen many times that the mouth says one thing and the arms and head do another. It is the nature of Islam when they are cornered, and it is not forbidden by the law. However, I hope you are right. The acts of suicide bombers, with the clear support of an organization of terror; (Where the bombs are made and sites are picked) speaks volumes to the world about the wisdom of negotiating with terrorists. The sane world should slam these people very hard, and then deal with legitiment grievances. But you first end the attacks on the innocent. (And thats another point, attacks on innocent civilians is terror, attacks on civilian terrorists is justice.)
Islam has singled itself out as the religion of terrorism. Many of their religious leaders either support it or fefuse to condemn.
President Reagan once described communism as (loosely quoting) "not being a form of government, but a form of insanity".
The same thing can be said about Islam. It's not a religion, it's a form of insanity.
A distinction without a difference.
A "bold line" to call people who blow up restaraunts full of people "terrorists?" Well, I suppose he's going further than AP or Reuters ever will.
Even daring to PUBLICLY label Palestinian bombers--or even the 9/11 monsters--as terrorists is a brave thing to do publicly in that part of the world.
Well worth repeating.
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