Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- Experts, Comment on Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Targets http://tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/13/01&Cat=4&Num=007 TEHRAN As the horrific dimensions of Tuesday's kamikaze hijackings emerge, TEHRAN TIMES has conducted a series of interviews with foreign and Iranian personalities and journalists. Talking with the TEHRAN TIMES, Dr. Ahmad Tavakkoli expressed deep regret over the death and suffering of civilians which occurred as result of the attacks against the United States. He underlined, however, that the U.S. government should look back on its past actions throughout the world and search for the reasons behind such attacks. Tavakkoli said that it is very unlikely that a foreign force had carried out the operation, adding that the attacks were quite possibly masterminded from within the U.S. system. "The U.S. should have understood the protests of the American people in Seattle in 1999, when thousands of protesters demonstrated against the wrong policies of the White House and U.S. officials," said Tavakkoli. Tavakkoli added, "during the past four decades, the social gap in the American society has expanding despite the booming economy. This could have also provided an incentive for this terrorist act." On the possible involvement of Palestinians, Tavakkoli said: "Palestinians have already attracted the attention of the world and there has been a marked swing in public opinion in their favor. Therefore, it would be a great mistake to assume that they would risk losing the world's sympathy through initiating such a human tragedy in the United States." Meanwhile, talking to the TEHRAN TIMES, the representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Tehran, Francesco Bastagli, expressed his and the UNDP's deep sorrow and sympathy over the recent human tragedy in the United States, condemning any terrorist attack anywhere in the world. Intiar Dekrit Bakhtiar, the first secretary of the Indonesian Embassy in Tehran, told the TEHRAN TIMES: "The Indonesian government and people herewith denounce any kind of terrorism, particularly the latest action which brought about such disaster. We express our sorrow and extend our sympathy over this human tragedy." Iranian MP Nour Mohammad Robousheh said, "We condemn terrorist attacks in any form, because our country has suffered enormous losses due to terrorism over the past decades. We express our sorrow and sympathy over this tragedy to the American people and hope the U.S. government and officials review their destructive and detrimental foreign policy, a matter which should be closely followed up by the American nation. A journalist from Tehran, Soha Kashani, condemned the attack against civilians in the U.S., saying that such attacks against innocent people are inhumane acts. She underlined that any terrorist operation against any government and nation is a heinous crime which should be confronted. She said that the people of the United States are not responsible for any crime perpetrated by the U.S. government. She added that U.S. citizens have nothing to do with the negative consequences of whatever is done by the U.S. government. Reza Taherkhani, a journalist from the political desk of **Kayhan** newspaper, expressed his regret on the death of innocent people who are the victims of terrorism. He added, "Terrorism should be condemned. The world should search for the roots of terrorism. The American people could have fallen victim to the U.S. government's state sponsored terrorism." In a separate interview with the TEHRAN TIMES, Mr. Hassan Haji Babaee, Majlis MP, expressed his sympathy with the American people and condemned all terrorist actions. He also said that whoever carried out the attack followed a precise and calculated plan and that it is not clear whether it was an internally or externally masterminded plan. He also believes that it is more probable that groups inside the United States are responsible and that no country or persons should be blamed without proper reason. Earlier on Tuesday Iranian President Mohammad Khatami condemned the kamikaze "terrorist" attacks in the United States and expressed his deep sorrow and sympathy with the American nation. "On behalf of the Iranian government and the nation, I condemn the hijacking attempts and terrorist attacks on public centers in American cities which have killed a large number of innocent people," President Khatami said in reaction to the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. "My deep sympathy goes out to the American nation, particularly those who have suffered from the attacks and also the families of the victims," he said, noting, "terrorism is doomed and the international community should stem it and take effective measures in a bid to eradicate it." Khatami added that the Islamic Republic is treading a road to uproot terrorism and to this end, he noted, it will spare no efforts. Incoming news indicates that among the victims of the twin New York towers, there may be some Iranian citizens or expatriates. The relatives of Iranians working in the area are extremely concerned about the fate of their family members. While many other countries have set up emergency centers for providing information for the concerned families, unfortunately, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has not taken any action in this regard. We urge the diplomatic authorities to provide counseling and information for the concerned Iranian families. TEHRAN TIMES is willing to participate in this important matter by accepting any messages from the Iranians in the area about their well being and conveying the messages to the concerned families. * Reactions in the Muslim Word: The top authority for the World's Sunni Muslims, the Sheikh of Al Azhar, condemned Wednesday the wave of deadly terrorist attacks in the United States as against the Islamic religion. The Imam, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, said "Islam rejected such acts" which he described as "horrible," according to a statement run on Egypt's state-run news agency MENA. Former Italian foreign minister, Lamberto Dini, who is also a member of Italian Parliament while commenting on the Tuesday attacks to New York, implicitly referred to Bush's policies as the main cause of these incidents in the United States. He also criticized U.S. policies toward the crisis in Palestine and while expressing regret over the terrible incidents of Tuesday in New York, added that Palestinians are not responsible for these attacks, because they did not have the necessary instruments to carry out such attacks. Elsewhere, Fernando de la Rua, the Argentinean President said "We are sure that the recent terrorist attacks have been done with the perpetration of internal American elements". Michel Nahl Moratins, a Spanish official said that all of the Muslim and Arab countries and intellectuals have expressed their sorrow about the event. Moratins added, It would be naive to think that the Muslim and Arab nations are going to destroy the "Great America". --- ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
