Some 100 Malaysian activists staged a peace rally Saturday, urging the US government to abstain from bloody military retaliation following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The rally came a day after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia opposed any US attacks on Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, alleged mastermind of the attacks, has lived as a "guest" of the ruling Taliban since 1996.
Members of the People's Peace Movement attracted a large crowd of shoppers and tourists at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest buildings, when they sang John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance".
They carried banners and placards saying "Peace, Not War", "Thou shall not kill" and "Remember Vietnam," referring to the war there.
A representative read out a peace declaration, endorsed by 29 non-governmental organizations, saying war was not the answer to terrorism but would only claim more innocent lives.
The statement said military strikes would only "beget violence, sending the world into a never-ending cycle of violence and terrorism."
"Efforts must be focused on fair and transparent investigation so that those responsible for this crime against humanity can be tried, backed by solid evidence, in the International Court of Justice in the Hague."
They also urged Washington to amend US foreign policies to make them more fair and just. Riot police and a water cannon were on standby but the demonstration passed off peacefully.
Mahathir on Friday said Malaysia would "object to any intended war as we do not see it as a solution."
"...terrorists are everywhere... even if Afghanistan is defeated and occupied by the western powers, this does not guarantee terrorism is defused, perhaps the terrorists may strike again elsewhere," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
Mahathir called on the United Nations to organize an international conference on terrorism to determine its causes and formulate measures to deal with it.
The premier said Malaysia was also "uneasy with the Taliban as well as Osama bin Laden" as there were links between the Afghan rulers and home-grown militants known as the Malaysian Mujahedin Group.
He said members of the Malaysian group were trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan and idolized bin Laden, the prime suspect behind the attacks in the US which left more than 6,000 dead or missing.
He said the group rejected democracy which it viewed as unIslamic.
"They are bent on installing a government by force and doing away with democracy after that and would then rule the country according to what they deemed as the Islamic way," Mahathir added.
Nine members of the Malaysian group -- said to be waging an Islamic "holy war" and blamed for a spate of crimes here -- were put in a detention camp for two years earlier this week under the Internal Security Act (ISA), a much feared law that allows detention without trial.
A tenth person was placed under the Restricted Residence Act and confined to a southern state.
Among the 10 were accused ringleader Nik Adli Nik Aziz, the son of the spiritual leader of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia which wants to set up a hard-line Islamic state in Malaysia.
Opposition leaders and rights groups have voiced concern that the ISA has been used to stifle challenge to Mahathir's 20-year rule, a charge he denies -- KUALA LUMPUR (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
