Terrorism and introspection

A week after the Sept. 2 terrorist attack on a school in the Russian town of Beslan, in which over 300 people -- mostly school children -- were killed and hundreds wounded, it happened again on Sept. 9, on our own soil, Jakarta.

These two separate incidents have similarities, namely, that they were senseless and brutal acts and committed without conscience. All civilized nations condemn such acts when innocent children, women and the elderly are targets.

Moreover, when terrorists act under the name of a religion -- Islam -- they pretend (not to know) or deliberately do not heed the prophet's teachings: That children, women, elderly or even their property, cattle, trees or plants must be spared in war. They are indeed waging war on their enemies, but using terrorism to do so.

Their acts are contrary to the true teachings of Islam. Also, countries that have been targeted by terrorists and their people should exercise introspection as proposed by many Indonesian religious leaders (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 10). Why have Americans, the British, Israelis, Australians and Russians become regular targets? Leaders of these countries should determine the real reason why they have become targets.

There is, I think, one key to the above problem: That problems in conflict areas derive from the unfair treatment of those who live there. Including, in this case, the unfair treatment of the Acehnese and Papuans, whose natural resources were "plundered" by the Indonesian New Order regime over the past three decades.

This very unfair treatment has prompted them to take action. Likewise, suppression in other countries results in violence or acts of rebellion.

In order to overcome these problems, the United Nations should take the lead by urging countries that are targeted by terrorists to strive for equality and put an end to terrorism.

M. RUSDI Jakarta