YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, 23 October 2003 — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday state terrorism was worse than that committed by individual groups and accused countries advocating democracy of terrorizing the world. His comments in this central Java city came on the same day US President George W. Bush visited the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
Mahathir, who steps down at the end of this month after 22 years in power, has been making headlines in his final days in office with statements about his belief that Jews rule the world. That subject didn’t come up in a wide-ranging 30-minute speech here as he accepted an award from a regional engineering association, but the topic of terrorism did.
Mahathir said “terror attacks are not just by irregulars acting on their own”.
“Indeed, we see states launching massive retaliation, not just to curb suspected terrorists, but his family, his home, his village and his town.”
“It would be ridiculous to think that such attacks do not terrorize the innocent. In fact, this terrorism is even greater, for it is systematic and executed with heavy weapons in the hands of trained soldiers “It would seem that the great exponents and practitioners of democracy believe that the way to spread the doctrine and to break down resistance is by terrorizing the world.”
The 78-year-old did not name the country or countries he had in mind, and declined to answer when asked later by a reporter, but he has been a frequent critic in the past of US, Australian and Israeli policies, among a number of others. A recent remark by Mahathir that “Jews rule the world by proxy” brought widespread criticism, which Mahathir said only proved he was right.
In his speech in this center of ancient Javanese culture and royalty in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Mahathir also attacked the World Trade Organization, whose avowed aim is to liberalize international trade.
In a later television interview in Yogyakarta, Mahathir said economic policies could in themselves be a form of terrorism, citing actions of international currency traders he said had hurt Asian economies and helped create poverty and violence. “That is why I say that the economic terrorism is no different from other forms of terrorism, and we can see that happening”.
In the interview, he defended his policy over the years of speaking his mind and not hesitating to criticize major powers such as the United States. “If we don’t, and we just allow them to do what they like, then they will get away with the feeling that they are invincible, nobody can stop them and they will go on doing the wrong things.”
Mahathir left Indonesia in the afternoon for a visit to East Timor with a government and business delegation aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and exploring technical cooperation and investment opportunities. From there he is scheduled to travel to Papua New Guinea.
Bush Says He Rebuked Mahathir
President Bush said yesterday that he rebuked Mahathir at the recently concluded APEC summit over his controversial remarks.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday that Bush had pulled Mahathir aside to denounce his “wrong and divisive” comments. The prime minister fired back a day later, saying that Bush “did not rebuke me.”
In a briefing aboard his Canberra-bound Air Force One, Bush said he had pulled Mahathir aside at the Thailand gathering to tell him personally that he thought those comments were “reprehensible.”
“I said, ‘they’re divisive and unnecessary.’ I didn’t yell at him, I just told him,” the US president told reporters. “You can’t pit groups against each other.”