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Thursday, September 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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World on alert as America burns
‘If they kill me, a hundred Osamas will rise’ Islamabad, September 12 Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden has denied his involvement in the US terror attacks, but justified the killing of thousands in Washington and New York as “oppressors’ reaction against the suppressor”.
Pak backing for ‘jehad’ may be hit Islamabad, September 12 Pakistan may find it difficult to sustain support for “jehad”even if it is related to the “most genuine cause of the Kashmiris” in the light of the devastating terrorist attacks in the USA, a leading newspaper has said. |
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A-I cancels flight to New York Florida business houses searched UN staff pulls out of Kabul
9 Palestinians killed Nablus, September12 At least nine Palestinians were killed today during Israeli incursions into two towns near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian sources said. Three Palestinians were killed in the nearby village of Arraba, the sources said. Nigeria clash toll crosses 500 Fiji leaves out Indians
from govt
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World on alert as America burns Paris, September 12 In cities around the globe, US embassies and consulates shut down, troops and police guarded key transport points and airlines, companies and other potential targets switched to top security. Flights to the USA were cancelled en masse. Tension was palpable in skyscrapers after two hijacked planes felled the World Trade Center in horrifying crashes seen live on television worldwide. Malaysia’s twin Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, the tallest buildings in the world, were evacuated in a bomb scare. German police ordered Frankfurt’s Messeturm Tower evacuated after a similar scare, but quickly called off the operation. The Bank of America evacuated its offices in central London after a security alert. French authorities reopened a probe into Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, considered the possible mastermind behind the attacks, to see if France was threatened. “It is an extremely depressing situation. The only other time I can remember such a depressed feeling was during the Cuban crisis,” said a Frankfurt stock trader, recalling the 1962 missile crisis that came close to unleashing a nuclear war. But work had to go on. In many cities, US and Israeli embassies continued only essential work with skeleton staffs, under cover of heightened security. Banks in other Frankfurt skyscrapers ignored local officials’ suggestions to stay closed. Commuters trooped through train terminals and metro stations under the watchful eye of security officials. Security plans unfold across the globe the security alert stretched across the globe and revealed its full extent as morning broke over successive time zones. In response to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, several US Embassies have shut down. The State Department last night urged embassies world-wide to take necessary security precautions. Several US Embassies in the Middle East decided to close indefinitely. The State Depatment gave embassies world wide permission to shut down if they chose. Embassies in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates announced that as of today, they were closing indefinitely. The embassy in Qatar was undecided. The embassy in Saudi Arabia will remain open. The US authorities took similar steps in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, closing the Jakarta embassy and boosting already-tight security. In Pakistan, a Marine security guard said senior US diplomats had stayed up through the night to monitor events, but added that the embassy would open today. “Our embassy is open today. Our visa section is closed to people who want visas,” he said. The US Embassy in Beijing was open for business, but security provided around the embassy by Chinese armed police doubled to about 30 and extra men were placed outside the nearby ambassdor’s residence. CHICAGO: Americans fled office towers, jammed public transport, fetched their children from schools and shuttered themselves in their homes as the country virtually closed down after the worst attack on US soil since Pearl Harbour. Security at borders with Canada and Mexico was tightened. President George W. Bush returned to Washington to deal with the crisis. Landmarks from the UN headquarters in New York, to the Sears Tower in Chicago, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Disney theme parks in Florida were temporarily closed.
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‘If they kill me, a hundred Osamas will rise’ Islamabad, September 12 A statement carried by Urdu newspaper Ausaf quoted Bin Laden as saying: “I don’t have any link to the US attacks, but I second it as it is the oppressors’ reaction against suppressor.” The story by Ausaf editor Hamid Mir said Bin Laden’s statement was read out to him by his special envoy who translated it from Arabic into Urdu. Laden, the daily said, appreciated those who committed Tuesday’s horrendous terrorist attacks. However, he added that a majority of those dead were innocent people. “But those being killed in Palestine are also innocent. Who cares about those innocent people? The terrorist USA is fully behind those killings.” Bin Laden, accused by Washington of carrying out deadly bombings of US embassies in Africa in 1998, also warned the USA against attacking him in Afghanistan. “The USA will be in more danger if they tried to kill me. If they will kill one Osama, hundreds of Osamas will stand against them.” He said he was on a “holy mission” and would soon complete it. His mission was to liberate Palestine from Jews. “I promise to fulfil my mission with the help of my followers.” Bin Laden also claimed that thousands of Muslim youths were committed to stand by him. “They are even ready for suicidal missions. Moreover dozens of Muslim scientists who are experts in different fields have assured me their knowledge and expertise against anti-Islam forces.” He said the jehad against anti-Islamic forces would continue “until atrocities against Muslims stopped. There are many Muslims like me who after quitting luxurious life have taken the path of jehad. And we will continue jehad against infidels. “We don’t possess any chemical weapon but our morale is even higher than all those who have nuclear bombs. “We’ll force the USA to change its policies and quit the anti-Islam agenda.” Baghdad: Iraq said that yesterday’s terror attacks on New York and Washington were the “fruit” of American crimes, in an official statement by a commentator on Iraqi television. “The American cowboys are reaping the fruit of their crimes against humanity, and (the attacks) are an affront to American politicians,” the commentator said. Meanwhile, Serb ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj said in Belgrade that he did not regret yesterday’s massive terrorist attack on the USA and accused Washington of leading a “policy” of state terror.” “I can’t say I’m surprised, I’m not saying I’m glad that civilians died, but I can’t say that I regret terrorist attacks against the USA” the leader of the Serbian Radical Party told the Beta news agency. “I have never forgotten the thousands of Serb civilians who died under NATO’s bombs. The USA has reaped what it has sowed around the world,” the opposition firebrand declared. London: The world was still absorbing the shock today of America’s deadliest terrorist attack as statements of support poured in from dozens of US allies and a handful of usually bitter rivals. People on every continent hovered around televisions and radios as frantic rescue efforts continued around New York City’s demolished World Trade Center and Washington’s crippled Pentagon. Newspapers ran banner front-page headlines above full-page photos of the devastation. “Apocalypse,” screamed the capital-letter headline of the Britain’s Daily Mail, which ran 30 pages of pictures and special reports. “When War Came to America” said The Times of London. “America Attacked” and “Maximum World Alert,” read a special edition by Spain’s El Pais. Amid the horror, pockets of Arab communities in the Middle East and Africa celebrated the devastating blow to a superpower they view as an anti-Islamic oppressor and Israel’s staunchest ally. But, joining a flood of condolences and condemnations from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Pope John Paul II and dozens of world leaders were Libya’s traditionally anti-American ruler Moammar Gadhafi, Afghanistan’s Taliban and Iran. Gadhafi called the attacks “horrifying” and urged international Muslim aid groups to join other international aid agencies in offering assistance to the USA regardless of political considerations or differences between America and the peoples of the world.” Former President Bill Clinton, who led the USA through the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, urged Americans to rally behind President George W. Bush. “We should not be second-guessing. We should be supporting him,” Mr Clinton said in a telephone interview while travelling in Australia. Mohammad Khatami, Iranian President, said he felt “deep regret and sympathy with the victims.” Further condolences and condemnations of the violence came from officials in Italy, Romania, Poland, Venezuela, Brazil, Northern Ireland, Finland, Mexico, Thailand, Yugoslavia, the Congo, the Philippines, Kenya, Lebanon, South Africa, Colombia, Singapore South Korea, Albania, Denmark and Jordan, among many other countries. In New York, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the attacks and urged all nations to work together to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent future terrorism. “We are all traumatised by this terrible tragedy,” Mr Annan said in a separate statement. “There can be no doubt that these attacks are deliberate acts of terrorism, carefully planned and coordinated - and as such I condemn them utterly. Terrorism must be fought resolutely wherever it appears.” “This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today,” said the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called an emergency cabinet meeting. The Pope condemned the “unspeakable horror” and said he was praying for the victims’ souls and for their families.
IANS, AFP, AP
Laden carries
$ 5 m reward New Delhi, September 12 The reward was announced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam on August 7, 1998. The bombing had left about 230 persons killed and thousands injured.
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Pak backing for ‘jehad’ may be hit Islamabad, September 12 “No one will now buy our argument in any way in defence of ‘jehad’ even if it is related to the most genuine cause of the Kashmiris,” The News said in a front-page article. The daily said the terrorist attacks will also toughen further New Delhi’s position on cross-border terrorism. It said President Pervez Musharraf, who is expected to meet President George W Bush during his US visit later this month, would be “facing a very uphill task in distancing from the ‘jehadis’ and the Taliban in particular”. The daily noted that all kinds of ‘jehadis’ are going to be brought into a very rigorous scrutiny including those in Kashmir, who are linked to Taliban and Osama bin Laden. While the street blocks in New York were witnessing a tragedy that would be written in history book as the “worst terrorist attack against mankind”, jubiliant crowds filled the streets in Pakistan celebrating the victory over “evil” America. Even as President Musharraf described the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon as “brutal and horrible”, hundreds of members of Islamic militant groups poured on to the streets in Pakistan, shouting anti-US slogans and talking of a lesson well taught to the enemy. Karachi: Muslim clerics on Wednesday condemned the deadly terror attacks in the USA, but warned Washington against carrying out any retaliatory strikes on Afghanistan. They also questioned the justification of suspecting Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden for the attacks and accused Washington of wrongly following a policy against him and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban movement that plays host to him. Maulana Fazlur Rahman, leader of another JUI faction, also denounced the suicide attacks by airplane hijackers, but said the USA should review its policy towards Islamic countries. Lashkar-e-Toiba, a militant group fighting Indian troops in Kashmir, said innocent civilians were targeted in Tuesday’s attacks in contrast to the Muslim concept of holy war.
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A-I cancels flight to New York Hong Kong, September 12 US airports were closed after three hijacked planes slammed into the Pentagon and the twin 110-storey towers in New York’s World Trade Center on Tuesday morning. A senior official at state-owned Air-India said it had cancelled Mumbai-Delhi-London-New York flight on Wednesday morning. He said the airline had also called two flights back to London on Tuesday evening after one of them had left for Chicago and the other to New York following a stopover in London. “The passengers will be brought back to India,” the official said. Reuters
Florida business houses searched Miami, September 12 Search warrants were served on four homes in Davie, a town west of Fort Lauderdale, and businesses, including a restaurant, were “scoured by agents” in Hollywood, WSVN television, a Fox affiliate, reported. The Miami Herald said agents served warrants yesterday night at the homes of four Broward County residents — where Davie is located — who were on the hijacked commercial jetliners that struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The passenger manifests of the hijacked jets included the names of at least four Florida residents suspected of being supporters of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant now living in Afghanistan who has been named as a possible suspect in the attacks, the WSVN said. Workers at the restaurant were shown pictures of two men believed involved in the hijackings, the station said.
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UN staff pulls out of Kabul Geneva, September 12 In a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the world body said it was “temporarily relocating” international staff currently deployed in Afghanistan at six offices. The pullout came amid fears of possible US retaliatory strikes after Tuesday’s unprecedented attacks by unidentified aircraft hijackers on the World Trade Center in New York and on The Pentagon in Washington. After the destruction of two US embassies in Africa in 1998, the US launched missile strikes on Afghanistan, targeting suspected hideouts of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden whom it blames for those attacks which killed 200 people. “Due to circumstances prevailing internationally, the United Nations system in Afghanistan is temporarily relocating its staff working in Afghanistan,” it said. “The relocation of up to 80 international staff began on September 12 and is expected to be completed on September 13. In Geneva, UN spokeswoman Marie Heuze told Reuters that the staff would be taken to Islamabad in neighbouring Pakistan. UN expatriate staff are now deployed in six locations in the war-torn country: Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar, Kandahar, Herat and Faislabad. On Tuesday, the UN envoy for Afghanistan said that if Washington believed the latest attacks were linked to Bin Laden, it would have “incalculable consequences” for Afghanistan.
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9 Palestinians killed Nablus, September12 Three Palestinians were killed in the nearby village of Arraba, the sources said. Another three were found dead in a refugee camp in Jenin and two were killed at Tubas in the same area. Shaher Bani Udeh, a member of the Palestinian security services, was killed in the village of Tammun, where another 20 Palestinians were wounded. This brings to 795 killed since the start of the Intifada or uprising, including 608 Palestinians and 164 israelis.
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Nigeria clash toll crosses 500 Lagos, September 12 The fighting in the central city of Jos was the latest bout of religious bloodshed between Christians and Muslims in oil-rich Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. “We just received information that fresh fighting broke out in Jos this morning,” Abiodun Orebiyi, acting Secretary-General of the Nigeria Red Cross, told newsmen. “Trouble started when a group of Muslim youths came out on the streets shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest). Then fighting broke out,” he added. The state-run national newspaper Daily Times, quoting unnamed sources, said at least 500 bodies had been interred at a mass burial on Monday evening at a cemetery in the area.
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Fiji leaves out Indians from govt Suva (Fiji), September 12 Indigenous Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase had invited ethnic Indian leader Mahendra Chaudhry, deposed in last year’s nationalist coup, to join his government but the two men could not agree on the make-up of the Cabinet. “I have been forced into opposition,’’ Mr Chaudhry, who denounced ballot-rigging during a week-long general election, said.
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