ASEAN should not be part of U.S. coalition: Mahathir

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, SEPT. 29. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) should not take part in an American attack on the Taliban, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has said.

Instead, Dr. Mahathir was quoted as saying, ASEAN should act as a moderating force. ``If we participate in war, we will only help escalate the problem.'' In other remarks, Dr. Mahathir said his Government had proof of the links between the Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM) and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Nine members of the KMM have been detained by the

Government under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for a two-year period for conspiring against the Government. One of the individuals detained is the son of a prominent Parti IslamSe Malaysia (PAS) leader. ``We also have proof that some of our people have joined the Taliban and have come back to the country to act violently to bring about the downfall of (the) Government through violence because they want to establish an Islamic State,'' the Prime Minister said.

``As such, we are also uneasy with the Taliban as well as with Osama bin Laden,'' Dr. Mahathir said. The Prime Minister said the persons detained under the Internal Security Act were planning to topple the Government by using violence means and were also responsible for bomb explosions. Dr. Mahathir said that Malaysians should appreciate the peace and harmony enjoyed by different ``races'' with different cultures and religions in the country.

``Because of the terrorist acts in the U.S., Muslims around the world are being targeted and some of them are afraid even to leave their homes,'' he said. ``They fear being attacked....the attackers do not distinguish their victims as even Sikhs who wear turbans were killed after being mistaken for Muslims,'' Dr. Mahathir said. According to the Prime Minister, such attacks had taken place because there was no ``racial'' tolerance.

While appreciating ``race'' relations in Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir warned that there were a small group of people in the country who were unhappy with peace and stability and wanted to create chaos. ``But we have managed to handle the situation by arresting them. When we did this, we were condemned for not giving freedom to our people,'' Dr. Mahathir said in a reference to Western criticism of preventive detention measures taken earlier by his Government. ``Today, those who condemned us are themselves forced to arrest and take tough action against people only suspected to be terrorists,'' the Prime Minister added.

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Section  : International
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