The Hindu : Journalist says Osama tape is genuine

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 16, 2002

International

International

Journalist says Osama tape is genuine

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON NOV. 15. A respected London-based Arab journalist, who met Osama bin Laden in 1996, has said he is certain that the voice on the latest al-Jazeera tape is that of Osama.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of U.K.'s Arabic daily Al Quds, said the "voice on this latest recording is his voice, and the style is his style.''

``The way he quotes from the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Mohammed, the way he uses threatening language, vowing to kill those who kill his people, above all his voice-clear, determined, soft, not vulgar-are all evidence for me that the tape is genuine,'' he said in The Guardian today.

Mr. Atwan said he had studied the "phenomenon of this man'' since he met him and earlier this year his newspaper received an "email from him'' in which he gave his views on the Arab-Israeli situation.

``Through this voice message, bin Laden wants to convey an extremely serious message to the U.S. and its closest allies such as Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany that their citizens will be targets so long as Muslim and Arab civilians continue to be killed in occupied Palestine, Chechnya and Iraq,'' he said. The timing, he added, was also significant and aimed at exploiting the anti-U.S. sentiment over Iraq.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International