UN told not to bow to U.S. pressure on Iraq
UN told not to bow to U.S. pressure on Iraq
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Muslim scholars urged the United Nations on Friday not to comply with the much-condemned desire of the American government to launch military strikes on Iraq, in order to restore the world body's credibility in creating and upholding world peace.
They said that in dealing with the issue of Iraq peacefully, the UN must avoid being dictated to by the U.S. government, widely known for its powerful control over the world organization.
"It's high time for the UN to prove to the world that it is really not an international institution that can be dictated to by the American government," Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic Studies (UIN) in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.
"The UN should strive to maintain its integrity and credibility as so far it has often been criticized for siding with and caving-in to pressure exerted by America," he added.
He said the UN should sincerely consider various possibilities of destruction if it endorses the American plan to attack Iraq and topple its strongman ruler Saddam Hussein.
Azyumardi was responding to a statement on Thursday by U.S. President George W. Bush who challenged the UN to strip Iraq "immediately and unconditionally" of weapons of mass destruction and warned that the government of the world's only superpower would take unilateral action against Iraq if the world body failed to act or Baghdad refused to disarm.
Azyumardi warned that if the U.S. goes ahead with its planned military operation against Iraq, it would only further encourage terrorism, hatred and enmity against the West and America in particular.
"Thus, the UN has to prevent it whatever the reason is. Even though Saddam Hussein is suspected of possessing weapons of mass destruction, this cannot justify any plan to attack Iraq," he added.
Similarly, a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Muchtar Pabotinggi said that the potential American strikes on Iraq were unacceptable and that the world had to prevent it.
"All sane countries should press and remind America of its own principles that we cannot take drastic action to kill anyone while there is still a modicum of doubt," he added.
Noted American Muslim scholar Mahmoud M. Ayoub, a professor of Islamic studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, said he believed the UN would turn down the U.S. proposal.
"The UN as I see it is unlikely approve the U.S. plan to attack Iraq. It would be more likely and prudent to take its time in convincing Iraq to accept international weapons inspectors.
"The problem is that Baghdad suspects these inspectors of actually playing a role of spies for America and Israel in Iraq. One has only to look as far as the case of American inspector Scott Ritter. That's why Iraqis are reluctant to accept these inspectors unconditionally," he said.
Ayoub said should America and its Western allies want the whole Middle East area free from weapons of mass destruction, they should take them out of the hands of everybody, including Israel.
"Israel has both nuclear and biological weapons. But nobody talks about it. It is ignored," he added.
Ayoub said the Muslim world should disassociate itself completely from the American plan. "They, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, should not allow America to use their sovereign nations as military bases to attack Iraq," he said.
He asked Indonesia to play an active, important role in finding a solution to the Middle East conflict.
"Indonesia must not become too close to America so that other countries will not suspect Indonesian's neutrality and commitment to help other Muslims," he added.