Straw hints at pause in bombing

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, OCT. 29. The British Government has indicated that a pause in bombing in Afghanistan during Ramadan, beginning in mid- November, is being considered but no decision has been taken.

The hint, seen as a significant shift in policy, came from the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, who said the Government was ``thinking about this carefully'' but pointed out that Muslim countries themselves in the past had not been known to observe such restraint and, for instance, there was no suspension of hostilities during the Iran-Iraq conflict in the Eighties. ``So, we are thinking about this carefully, there was a very brief pause on the first Friday, holy day of the week, of the bombing campaign...but we are also looking at the experience in Islamic countries themselves,'' he said on BBC's ``Breakfast with Frost'' show on Sunday.

Downing Street acknowledged Muslim ``sensitivities'' but said no final decision had been taken. ``Of course, we are aware of the sensitivities but equally we are aware of people's desire to achieve the campaign's objectives as quickly as possible,'' the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair's spokesman said while the U.S. Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, was quoted as saying that there was nothing in Islam ``that suggests that conflicts have to stop in Ramadan''. There was speculation that Washington might not be as amenable as London on the issue but a compromise could result in ``some gesture'' without complete suspension of hostilities.

Mr. Straw's remarks followed growing calls for a halt in bombing not only from Muslim countries but from within the Blair administration with ``key Ministers'', according to The Times, in favour of a ``brief pause'' at least at the start of Ramadan. Observers noted that this was the first time that a Minister of Mr. Straw's standing had acknowledged, however grudgingly, the possibility of such a move. The Guardian said with Muslim opinion in many countries, including Britain, ``expressing dismay'' at the nature of the air attacks and civilian casualties, the U.S.- led coalition was anxious not to offend Islamic sensitivities ``needlessly'' by taking too rigid a stance on the issue.

Meanwhile, Mr. Blair faced more criticism from his own partymen over his war strategy with a former Labour Defence Minister, Mr. Peter Kilfoyle, accusing him of toeing the American line and the Left-wing party veteran, Mr. Tony Benn, denouncing it as an ``immoral'' conflict which, he said, was claiming lives of innocent children. Mr. Kilfoyle said Mr. Blair was playing a junior partner to the U.S. President Mr. George W Bush. ``Effectively this is an American war...It means that decisions are made in Washington and nowhere else,'' Mr. Benn said on the BBC and warned that the war would have ramifications beyond the Muslim world. His criticism added to the pressure from the anti- war MPs for a vote in Parliament on whether or not the war should continue. The Government has ruled out a vote but said MPs have the right to air their views. A clumsy attempt to prevent the dissidents from talking to the media without clearing it with the party chief whip failed last week after one such MP publicly protested moves to ``gag'' dissent.

As questions over war aims after a string of setbacks last week continued to be raised, the Government attacked the media for fueling scepticism. Mr. Straw said a 24-hour news driven media ``constantly wants to change the story forward'' resulting in a reporting culture that was ``very, very short- term''. He said the media made similar criticism during the Kosovo conflict. ``We had exactly the same headlines...Many of the commentators who are now saying this is a mistake were saying Kosovo was a mistake,'' he said. Downing Street echoed his remarks.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Bush under pressure to intensify campaign
Next     : Anthrax found at Justice Dept. mail facility