Afghanistan a victim of terrorism: academics
Tong Yee Siong

Several local academics today blamed the West - more specifically the United States - for aggravating political violence in the world, saying Afghanistan was a victim, not a perpetrator, of terrorism.

Ruhanas Harun said the current conflict in Afghanistan resulted from the political instability caused by foreign intervention which has plagued the country for the last two decades.

“The Mujahideen fighters who declared a jihad against the communist Soviet bloc received financial aid and guerrilla training from anti-communist countries led by the United States,” stressed Ruhanas who teaches international and strategic studies at Universiti Malaya.

She said the United States however later left the country entirely on its own to deal with internal rivalry after the fall of the Soviet Union.

“Afghanistan no longer became a relevant and pressing factor in the US foreign policy and children of jihad are now turning into terrorists against the old master,” she said.

Ruhanas was speaking to an audience of some 100 locals and foreigners at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, organised by Universiti Malaya and the National Security Division of the Prime Minister’s Department.

The one-day event, prompted by the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the US, is comprised of a series of sessions on political violence and terrorism.

Ruhanas also criticised the United States for practising double-standard in identifying ‘terrorist states’.

“Some Islamic regimes such as Saudi Arabia are regarded as its allies, while countries which are politically anti-West were termed ‘radical Islamic countries’. This shows that politics accommodates strange bedfellows,” she said.

Weapon of the weak

However, she noted that the ongoing repression and under-development in many Muslim regimes also gave rise to terrorism.

“Backward economy, non-existent civil society and oppression did not win the respect of the citizens and so many regimes use Islam to remain in power. Terrorism soon became the only effective weapon of the weak against the powerful,” she said.

Aside from that, many Muslims worldwide on many occasions behaved in such a way that had only strengthened the Western misconception that Muslims are fanatical, violent and unreasonable, she added.

On the US retaliation against Afghanistan which started early last month, Ruhanas said, “The objective to replace the existing government of Taliban with the Northern Alliance makes this war no different from what the United States did in the past.”

Another panellist, Dr Mohd Hazim Shah Abdul Murad, said the United States eventually cannot claim a moral victory because it practises ‘might is right’.

“American action in Afghanistan is deplorable because it is irresponsible,” said Mohd Hazim who teaches philosophy and sociology of science at Universiti Malaya.

Short of calling the US a hypocrite, he said, “America tried to paint a human face by dropping ‘food aid’ yet it (the country) was the primary cause of why millions of Afghans became destitute refugees.”

Mohd Hazim also accused the Western media of portraying Islam and Muslims in a bad light just to make a profit and smear the Taliban as part of its “psychological warfare”.

He called on the United Nations to “wake up” and discuss the US-led military actions on Afghanistan instead of letting the major powers make the decisions.

Dr Abdol Rauh Yaccob said the West and their allies have tried to engage the Muslim world by diplomacy throughout human history and as such, stop the Muslims from drawing “any Islamic strength”.

“The West tied up Muslims with the concept of Islam as a religion of peace to ensure that they have a free hand to materialise their design in the Muslim world,” said Abdol Rauh who teaches Middle East politics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Intelligence failure

Explaining the Sept 11 attacks from another viewpoint, Dr Philip HJ Davies from Universiti Malaya said the tragedy should be considered a result of intelligence failure.

He said the task of domestic security intelligence falls on the Federal Bureau of Investigation but the FBI is not viewed as a full-fledged member of the intelligence community.

“Rivalry between the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency have furthered weakened intelligence liaison,” said Davies, a lecturer of international and strategic studies.

The conference this morning was officiated by adviser of the National Economic Action Council, Mustapa Mohamed. Also present were counselor for political affairs at the US embassy, James F Entwistle, and Afghan Charged’ Affaires Abdul Sattar Murad.

Although the government has condemned the recent terrorist attacks on the United States which demolished the World Trade Center and killed about 5,000 lives, it has also urged the superpower to halt its retaliation against Afghanistan.

Critics, however, accused the government of practising ‘double-talk’: showing support for the US internationally while fanning anti-West sentiments at home.

In the latest development, AFP reported that opposition troops by the Northern Alliance had seized the Afghan capital of Kabul after chasing out forces of the ruling Taliban militia.