U.S. warned against blaming Islamic groups for attacks<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The U.S. government, still devastated by
\nTuesday's terrorist attacks, is cautioned against pointing the
\nfinger at militant Islamic Middle East groups until it has
\nsubstantial evidence.<\/p>\n
Local observers said that the American habit of attributing
\nterrorism to particular religious or ethnic groups was dangerous
\nbecause it unfairly stigmatized Islam and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Juwono Sudarsono, an international affairs observer, and Sidik
\nDjatmiko, a political observer from Muhammadiyah University in
\nYogyakarta, recalled that the U.S. was wrong when it publicly
\naccused Middle East groups of bombing an Oklahoma office block in
\n1995.<\/p>\n
The bomber turned out to be a homegrown terrorist who vented
\nhis anger on what he perceived was the U.S. government's
\ncapitalist policy which neglected the poor.<\/p>\n
\"The important thing is that they (U.S. officials) should wait
\nuntil the investigation is completed and the perpetrators of the
\ncrime are brought to justice,\" Juwono said.<\/p>\n
Sidik said the U.S. government should leave the habit of
\nblaming terrorist attacks on its interests on Middle East groups.<\/p>\n
\"Blaming militant Middle East Islamic fighters could not only
\nbe misleading but may also embarrass the U.S. if the accusation
\nturns out to be unsubstantiated,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed to the Oklahoma bombing by an American ex-
\nserviceman as proof of how wrong American perception about
\nterrorism could be. This could be the case with the latest
\nterrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
\"The Oklahoma bombing was carried out by an American
\npsychopath and had nothing to do with Middle East hard-liners. It
\nis unfortunate that the U.S. government has never apologized for
\nimplicating Muslim hard-liners before any investigation had even
\nbegun.\"<\/p>\n
Sidik, who is chairman of the university's Middle East Affairs
\nStudies, said the U.S. always looked for a scapegoat for anything
\nthat threatened its security.<\/p>\n
Mochtar Mas'ud, an international affairs observer from Gadjah
\nMada University, said it would be hard to theorize who might be
\nresponsible for the latest attacks because the U.S. had many
\nenemies due to its major role in world affairs.<\/p>\n
\"It would be naive to hastily blame Islamic groups for the
\nattacks. It's possible that the masterminds come from countries
\nlike Cuba, Asia, Africa or even international crime syndicates,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Whoever the perpetrators may be, he said he believed they were
\npeople opposed to American policies, such as those on human
\nrights and democracy in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
\"For example, the U.S. has adopted double standards in
\nhandling the Israeli-Palestinian issues,\" he said as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Aisyah Amini, a House member from the Muslim-based United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) stressed terrorism must be condemned but
\nshe urged Washington not to accuse any group before it conducted
\nan investigation.<\/p>\n
\"The American government should track down the terrorists,
\narrest them and find out why the attacks happened and learn from
\nthe experience,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Military analyst from the Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies (CSIS), Kusnanto Anggoro, expressed concern
\nover hints of U.S. retaliation by President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n
He theorized it would not be easy to identify which group the
\nperpetrators may belong to.<\/p>\n
He said that in the U.S. alone Osama bin Laden's organization
\nhas some 22 cells and each was very autonomous. \"Each cell can
\nmake its own decision without agreement from Osama. Therefore, to
\nascertain who is ready responsible for the incident would be very
\ndifficult,\" he added. (02\/09\/pan)<\/p>",
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