MALAYSIA: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that the world was in a state of terror, allowing a fear of Muslims to affect international policy, and a war on Iraq would be seen as a war on Muslims.
He spoke on the eve of a three-yearly summit of leaders of the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) that is to issue a declaration calling on Baghdad to comply with UN disarmament resolutions while challenging Washington with vociferous opposition to any US-led war on Iraq.
"The attack against Iraq will simply anger more Muslims who see this as being anti-Muslim rather than anti-terror," Mr Mohamad, chairman and summit host, told a business forum. "The world is in a state of terror. We are afraid of Muslims, of Arabs, of bearded people," he said of feelings since the September 11th, 2001, attacks on the US.
Many NAM nations from as far apart as Afghanistan and Zambia have seized on a March 1st deadline for Iraq to start destroying its longer-range missiles as a chance to avoid war.
However, Iraq was not satisfied with the draft statement by the delegates representing two-thirds of the UN, and wanted the leaders to offer more support for Baghdad in their final declaration, Vice-President Mr Taha Yassin Ramadan was quoted as telling Qatari satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera.Ahead of the two-day summit that opens today, Mr Mahathir told fellow developing nations the US wanted to conquer the world. "I'm certain if they are successful in Iraq they will turn to Iran next and then to North Korea," he told a state-sponsored anti-war rally of 100,000. "After that, who will become their victim? It is clear the Western powers want to conquer the world again."
Meanwhile, Philippine President Ms Gloria Macapagal Arroyo prayed yesterday that President Saddam Hussein would rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction as she led tens of thousands of Filipinos in the country's biggest anti-war rally. Unlike other speakers, who prayed US President George W. Bush would also avoid war, Ms Arroyo - an ardent supporter of the US anti-terror campaign - did not mention the American leader. Crowds estimated by police at 300,000 attended the prayer rally at Manila's Rizal Park organised by two major Christian religious groups.
"Let us pray for Saddam Hussein," Ms Arroyo said. - (Reuters)