SE Asian leaders denounce attacks

SE Asian leaders denounce attacks

BANGKOK (Agencies): Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday
joined in a chorus of international condemnation of the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in
Washington, D.C., while beefing up security at U.S. embassies and
other installations in their capitals.

Security was stepped up at all American facilities in the
Philippines on Wednesday, while the government expressed "shock
and horror" over the terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington.

Similar security precautions were taken at U.S. embassies in
Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh, to protect against
a possible spread of anti-U.S. terrorist activities in the
region.

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she had
ordered the armed forces and the police to "go on a heightened
state of alert to secure all vital installations, utilities and
infrastructure".

"Nothing can describe the shock and horror of all humanity in
the face of the unimaginable acts of terror inflicted on the
U.S.," Arroyo said in a letter to President George W. Bush.

The Philippines' largest Moro separatist rebel group, which
has been linked to Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, a main
suspect in the attacks, condemned the assault.

"This act of terrorism is highly condemnable and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) condemns whoever is behind these
cowardly acts," said MILF regional commander Shariff Julabbi.

In a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, Indonesian
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who leads the world's largest
Muslim nation, said she was shocked at the "barbaric" attacks in
New York and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

"The government of Indonesia condemns these indiscriminate
attacks that resulted in a great number of innocent people losing
their lives and being wounded," Megawati said in the letter,
which was released to journalists on Wednesday morning.

In Bangkok, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai sent a
statement to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying,
"Thailand strongly condemns these acts of terrorism."

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he was "deeply
shocked and saddened" by the attacks, and added, "The Thai people
also share my view that these terrorist acts are to be condemned
in the strongest terms."

Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, in a condolence
letter to Bush, said he was "shocked and deeply saddened to learn
of the tragic loss of lives by the terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington."

"We join you and others in strongly condemning these acts of
terrorism," said Goh, who is currently on leave in Perth,
Australia.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk joined in the condemnation of
the terrorist attacks on U.S. financial and defense centers and
offered his condolences to the American people.

"On behalf of the Cambodian people, parliamentarians, the
Cambodian government, my Cambodian royal family and myself," the
king wrote in a letter to U.S. President Bush.

"I express my condolences to your Excellency and the great
American people, the families of the innocent people in the
horrible and unjustifiable murder attempt by terrorists," he
said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for a coordinated
global response to the series of terrorist attacks.

The Cambodian premier condemned the attacks and asked
governments around the world to renew their campaign against
terrorism, the premier said.

"I appeal to all governments of other countries in the world
to increase cooperation in order to protect against and crack
down on terrorists everywhere so that there will be no more new
attacks anywhere in the world," he said.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
cancelled a trip to Britain late Tuesday, following the terrorist
attacks on U.S. landmarks in New York and Washington.

Hundreds of Southeast Asian nationals, including Filipinos,
Thais and Malaysians, were employed at the World Trade Center in
New York, although casualties remained largely unknown.

The Thai government has announced that of the 17 Thais
employed at the New York building, so far only two had sustained
minor injuries.

People on the streets of Chinese cities reacted with shock
Wednesday to the terror attacks which struck New York and
Washington, but some argued the U.S. was reaping the returns of
its own foreign policies.