Mahathir smoothes over miscue with Palestinians

Mahathir smoothes over miscue with Palestinians

Reuters, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's suggestion to Islamic nations that attacks on civilians are terrorist acts bore the hallmark of a diplomatic miscue.

The veteran leader, host of an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign ministers' meeting on terrorism, stirred controversy at the start of the three-day gathering by suggesting Palestinian suicide bombers can be considered terrorists.

Unusually for such gatherings, the host's speech was not officially adopted by the OIC at the end of the meeting on Wednesday, but was merely taken note of in deference to the sentiments of several members of the 57-member organization.

"There have been some attempts to single out (Palestinian) resistance groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad for committing suicide bombers against civilians as acts of terror. But those attempts were quickly rejected," said one of the Arab delegates who took part in drafting the final declaration.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings that have triggered the latest Israeli onslaught on Palestinian towns and villages.

The OIC called the conference to dispel notions Muslims as terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States by Islamic radicals in hijacked planes.

Malaysia's opposition on Wednesday urged Islamic states to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and called on the United Nations to indict Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal. The call was made in a memorandum handed over to the 57-member OIC by condemning terrorism and Israeli actions in the Middle East.

The opposition urged Islamic nations to use all political, diplomatic and economic channels to try to rally the world community to isolate Israel.

"It is the hope of the Ummah (Muslims) that the OIC will take up the challenge to confront the Zionist Israel firmly," Fadzil Noor, opposition leader and president of the Muslim fundamentalist Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) said in the memorandum.

In Monday's opening speech Mahathir, known for his blunt style, listed perpetrators of attacks on civilians.

He said: "According to this definition of terrorism, the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, the human bomb attacks by Palestinians and (Sri Lanka's) Tamil Tigers, the attacks against civilians by Israeli forces...must be considered as acts of terror."

The Malaysian prime minister, who has always been steadfast in his support of the Palestinians and condemnation of Israel, met the head of the Palestinian delegation Farouq al-Kaddoumi for an hour on Tuesday to smooth over any misunderstanding.

"Mahathir told us that his speech had been taken out of context, that his support for our cause is unwavering. It was a good meeting," said a Palestinian aide who attended the meeting.

Mostly Muslim Malaysia has stood firmly behind the United States in the war on terror, arresting 50 suspected Islamic militants at home, but it criticized the bombing of Afghanistan.

Mahathir's anti-terrorism message is consistent with strong domestic policies to defend Malaysia's treasured stability, and while he is seeking good relations with Washington the outspoken leader is not going out of his way to curry favor.

During the meeting he delivered a stinging rebuke to Washington for its support of Israel.

"Well, the U.S. is doing alright in terms of getting the world to act against terrorists. I think the whole world supports, but unfortunately the U.S. has supported the action by the Israeli government which amounts to terrorism," Mahathir said.

In his speech to the OIC, he said labeling terrorists was inadequate without addressing the root cause of their actions.

He said the confiscation of Palestinian land by the Israelis was at the heart of Palestinian resistance, and the Israeli's excessive retaliation had caused the violence to escalate.

"For the Israelis it is not an eye for an eye; it is a life for being hit by a stone," Mahathir said referring to the killing of stone-throwing Palestinian youths during their 18-month-old uprising.

The impotence of Muslims in several parts of the world to alter circumstances of their occupation by a foreign power, an oppressive regime or economic deprivation led some to vent their anger, Mahathir said.

"These people may be misguided, they may be wrong in believing they are fighting a jihad, a holy war," he said.

But he added: "The world must deal with these misguided people not just by hunting them down but also by removing the causes of their anger and frustration."

U.S. President George W. Bush has invited Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for a rare visit to Washington from May 12-14, a diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday.

It will be Mahathir's first visit to the White House since 1994, when he met Bush's predecessor Bill Clinton.

The visit would be a major step forward in bilateral ties and reflects Washington's regard for Mahathir as a moderate Muslim leader.