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http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002093001891500.htm The Hindu September 30, 2002 Anti-terror campaign creates a backlash in S-E Asia By P. S. Suryanarayana -"The baseless accusations should stop or the Indonesian people may get angry." -In separate but related developments, Abu Bakar Baasyir (Bashir), the Indonesian cleric on America's terror watch list, has asked Jakarta to snap diplomatic ties with Washington, while the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, said his country and Russia would cooperate to combat terrorism. SINGAPORE Sept. 29. While the U.S. is tracking China on the diplomatic radar screen for any sign of Beijing's eventual position on the current American strategic moves to unseat Saddam Hussein of Iraq in an anti-terror swoop, Washington's articulation of its overall "anti-terror agenda'' is alienating two other key countries in the Asia Pacific region. These other countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, are not in the same category as China, a veto-exercising permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. As a result, while China is in some ways sought to be wooed by the U.S., Indonesia and Malaysia have begun to express their dismay over certain perceived aspects of Washington's attitude towards them. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, today brushed aside the resentment within his country over the apparent American disapproval of the pace at which Kuala Lumpur is carrying out its own anti-terror drive. Dr. Mahathir told Malaysian journalists that his administration "doesn't do things for other people to appreciate''. He underlined that "we do things because they are right''. He was also critical of Canada's new move to institute a visa regime for Malaysians in the current context of a heightened security alert. The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, was more direct in regretting the perceived tendency of some Western countries to bracket Malaysia with international terrorism in spite of Kuala Lumpur's anti-terror measures in recent months. Emphasising that Malaysia was among the countries that launched a definitive anti-terror initiative, Mr. Hamid Albar said that his peaceful country should not, therefore, be subjected to prejudice on the international stage. Malaysian laws such as the Internal Security Act, which provides for detention without trial, had indeed facilitated Kuala Lumpur's proactive anti-terror drive, he maintained. The political leaders in Malaysia as also Indonesia, both Muslim-majority states and members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, have embarked on a political offensive at home to let the U.S. know that they should not be tarred with the terrorist brush in the current sociological context of the West's anti-terror agenda. It was only two days ago that the Malaysian authorities put out a list of eight men wanted for suspected terrorist activities while detaining another person who was said to be linked Jemaah Islamiyah, which is believed to be a pan-regional terrorist outfit in South East Asia. Malaysia has detained over 60 persons since last December on terrorism-related charges. In Indonesia, the Vice President, Hamzah Haz, has flayed the West for hurling "baseless accusations'' against Indonesia to the point of treating it as a virtual hotbed of terrorism. "The baseless accusations should stop or the Indonesian people may get angry'', Mr. Hamzah Haz said. The Vice President, who heads Indonesia's largest Islamic political party (the United Development Party), indicated that the Government might find it difficult to reign in the escalating public anger against the West at this time. His authoritative comments have now added political spice to the recent warnings by the leaders of two of Indonesia's premier Muslim organisations the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah. These two leaders, Hasyim (Hashim) Muzadi and Sjafii Maarif, had already cautioned America against generating a backlash against the West by treating Indonesia as an advancing new frontier of international terror. In separate but related developments, Abu Bakar Baasyir (Bashir), the Indonesian cleric on America's terror watch list, has asked Jakarta to snap diplomatic ties with Washington, while the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, said his country and Russia would cooperate to combat terrorism. The American terror watch has become a contentious issue not only between Jakarta and Washington but also on the Indonesian political front itself. The Vice-President was conspicuously absent from a Cabinet meeting that called upon the Muslim clergy to help the Government launch a crackdown against terrorists. The meeting was presided over by the Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
