Updated 12-21-1998
World
reacts to US,
British attacks on Iraq
Condemnations,
mass protests and demonstrations marked the end of the US led air
bombing campaign against Iraq.
Below are summaries of world public reaction to the US-British four
day bombing campaign which started on December 15.:
OAU Deplores Iraq's Bombing
"Africa can only regret that more decent ways cannot be found
on the international scene to settle a conflict between Iraq and the
international community," said Organization of African Unity
(OAU) chairman, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso.
Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR-Malaysian youth leaders on Friday demonstrated
in front of the US embassy to condemn the US-British air strikes against
Iraq.
The Malaysian newspaper, The Utusan Malaysia said the Muslim world
must condemn the US air strike. "Whatever reason given by Washington
will not cleanse the bloody hands of President Bill Clinton."
Malaysian leaders also called for boycotts on US goods in protest
against the air strikes.
Thousands rally in Libya
TRIPOLI-Over 10,000 Libyans rallied in Tripoli's Green Square
to show solidarity with Iraq, condemning the US-British bombing raids.
They shouted slogans against the US and Israel and attacked the lack
of Arab coordination in resisting "plans to exterminate Arabs
and Muslims."
Saudi government support attacks, blames Iraq
The official Saudi Arabia news agency, SPA quoted a Saudi official
as saying, "The Saudi government is following with deep concern
the situation in Iraq and the strike operations because of its refusal
to cooperate with experts from the UN Special Commission charged with
disarmament."
Pope expresses solidarity with Iraqi people
VATICAN CITY-Pope John Paul II, addressing nearly 10,000 people
in St. Peters's Square, expressed bitterness at the failure of international
law and organizations charged with upholding international law to
resolve the crisis peacefully.
Mixed Asian Reaction
While staunch US allies Japan and Australia backed the bombings,
China, who called for the immediate resignation of Chief UN inspector
Richard Butler, appealed for diplomatic means of resolving the crisis.
Philippines
Calling for a jihad against the US imperialists, Ustadz Shariff Julabi,
an official of the Philippines Moro Islamic Liberation Front said,
"The slaughter of innocent Muslims in Iraq, by the United States
and its evil allies is the work of Satan. There is no justification
in the attacks," Julabi said, stressing the "aggressor did
not even respect the religion of Islam."
Indonesia
"This is purely a brutal aggression which completely ignores
international laws. All Indonesians condemn this act of barbarity,"
said Lukman Harun, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Council of
Muslim Scholars, the nation's highest Islamic authority.
Deputy priest Ahmed Bukhari of India's largest mosque, the Jama Masjid,
said the decision to call of strikes on Baghdad after Ramadan began
in Iraq would not fool Muslims. "After committing all the destruction
it wanted to, America has now called off the bombings with the start
of Ramadan. But no one in the Islamic world is going to be fooled
by this," he said.
Sudan offers its resources to the people of Iraq
KHARTOUM-Sudan's resources are at Iraq's disposal in the face
of US and British aggression, Hassan al-Turabi told worshippers after
weekly prayers, Sudanese press reported here Saturday. Turabi criticized
the attitude of some Arab and Muslim leaders toward "the ordeal
of the Iraqi people" saying their indifference could "persuade
the Americans and Zionists into entering the holy lands in Mecca and
Medina" in Arabia.
Outraged Russia breaks nuclear treaty, recalls ambassadors
MOSCOW-Russia voiced indignation at US-led strikes against
Iraq, while Communist lawmakers dumped ratification of a key nuclear
disarmament treaty.
Russia has recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Britain
in protest at the attacks on Iraq, reported IRAR-TASS.
Briefing deputies over the air strikes, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
lambasted chief UN weapons inspector Richard Butler, saying he bore
'personal responsibility for the development of events. "That
is why we are going to insist that he is replaced by more professional
and experienced specialists."
Ivanov said Butler's report to the U.N. Security Council, which accused
Iraq of frustrating efforts to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction,
had "served as a pretext" for the air strikes.
Russian President, Boris Yeltsin said in a statement, "Such
a development, which Russia has repeatedly spoken out against, evokes
our most serious concern, a feeling of indignation and deep anxiety."
Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov "strongly rejected the
arguments" put forward by Washington, saying Russia viewed the
strikes as a "gross violation of UN Security Council resolutions,
of the UN Charter and the universally acknowledged principles of international
law."
Former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev likewise condemned the attacks
on Baghdad, calling the US strikes "inadmissible" and a
blow to the United Nations Organization."
Thousands march in Syria, attack US, British embassies
DAMASCUS-Thousands of protesters, led by many university students,
filled the streets of Syria in spontaneous demonstrations. After scaling
the embassy wall of the US embassy, protesters ripped down and burned
a US flag before marching toward the nearby residence of the US ambassador.
US guards inside the compound fired tear gas at the protesters before
Syrian police intervened. Protesters also stormed the British Cultural
Council offices before dispersing.
The Syrian Government has strongly condemned the US and British attacks
on Iraq.
Elsewhere, there have been protests in Palestine, Bulgaria, Egypt,
Yemen, Germany, India, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, China, Jordan, Oman,
Morocco and Britain.
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