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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tadsamillionaire who wrote (21622)	2/24/2003 6:33:27 PM
From: Richnorth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27766

West 'using terror war to dominate world' straitstimes.asia1.com.sg It is waging a battle on the developing world and Muslims that smacks of double standards, says Mahathir MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad opened the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) by accusing the West of using the war on terrorism as an excuse to revive 'the old European trait' of wanting to dominate developing countries and non-whites. But he also blamed the developing world 'for the mess the world is in today', because they have been 'busy overthrowing governments, and killing our own people by the millions'. He set the agenda, however, for the two-day meeting of leaders of the biggest group of countries outside the United Nations by chastising the West for war-mongering and waging a war on the Muslim world and developing countries that smacked of double standards. Dr Mahathir rolled out the red carpet yesterday for leaders attending the summit, including Cuban President Fidel Castro, while attempting to spread the message that the developing world wished to have their voice heard in resolving the Iraq crisis. Dr Mahathir has said in recent weeks that his government was dead set against the possibility of war in Iraq and he has been regularly chastising the US for ignoring a multilateral approach in resolving the crisis. But he reserved his harshest words yesterday for his opening speech as he tried to rally support from developing countries to stop the war in Iraq. Said Dr Mahathir: 'It is a revival of the old European trait of wanting to dominate the world and the expression of this trait invariably involves injustice and oppression of people of other ethnic origins and colours. 'Since Sept 11 the rich and the powerful have become enraged with the poor half of the world. And their extreme measures have only amplified the anger of the oppressed poor.' Both sides, he said, were now in a state of blind anger and bent on killing each other. As host Malaysia takes over the chairmanship of NAM, Dr Mahathir, who retires from office in October, is using the platform to try and rally the developing world in what he says is the confrontation between the haves and have nots. Malaysia has found it difficult in the run-up to the summit yesterday to find a common stand among the 116-member countries of NAM in condemning outright the war on Iraq. Many countries here are not happy with the stand of the US but leaders have also been urging Iraq to disarm completely and comply with UN resolutions to avert war. But Dr Mahathir still used his speech yesterday to rail against what he considers the futility of war. 'It is no longer just a war against terrorism. It is in fact a war to dominate the world, that is, the chromatically different world. 'War must be outlawed. That will have to be our struggle for now. No single nation should be allowed to police the world, least of all to decide what action to take,' he said. South African President Thabo Mbeki took up the theme, and it was echoed in speech after speech by leaders who condemned war but also demanded Iraq comply with UN resolutions and get rid of any weapons of mass destruction. 'I...plead with President Saddam Hussein to urgently negotiate a win-win settlement that will spare the heroic Iraqi people the agonies of the devastating war,' Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said that Iran, which fought an eight-year war against Iraq in the 1980s, was against the use of force to oust President Saddam Hussein and was 'opposed to war-mongering policies'. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a speech read on his behalf at the summit that weapons inspections in Iraq are making headway and must be allowed to resolve the crisis. Mr Annan insisted war was 'not inevitable' and warned any action not sanctioned by the UN would lack legitimacy. Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told reporters that Dr Mahathir's speech was a message to Washington to 'listen carefully to the voice of the public opinion, which is against war. Those who call for war are public enemies now, enemies of humanity'. While leaders were meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre, their wives were at another venue and issued a statement saying 'no' to a looming war in Iraq. At a dialogue chaired by the Prime Minister's wife, Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali, they appealed to governments to prevent armed conflicts and to devote more resources to building and sustaining peace.