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Bush to Meet Mahathir at White House
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| Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will meet Bush to discuss relations |
WASHINGTON, May 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush to meet with Malaysia's veteran Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the White House on Tuesday, in a visit that will go towards rehabilitating relations between the two sides.
Mahathir’s visit is a sign of the changes wrought in U.S. foreign policy by the September 11 attacks - and Washington's desire to engage nations seen as crucial to its international campaign against terrorism, news agencies reported.
Mainly Muslim Malaysia has won U.S. praise for its assistance in the campaign since the attacks, and for sharing intelligence with U.S. authorities.
More than 60 militants allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden are in custody, and Malaysia's performance has been compared favorably here to that of Indonesia, which some officials believe has done little to crack down on extremism.
Indonesia has recently enjoyed a push by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for renewed military relations.
"I shall not ask for anything and shall not compromise on our positions," Mahathir was quoted as saying at the weekend by Utusan Malaysia, a Malay language newspaper.
"However, we will have to correct our relationship with them," said the 76-year-old leader, who has not visited the White House since 1994, during then president Bill Clinton's first term.
Mahathir's invitation to the White House signals that both sides have moved on from the period of testy relations of the previous few years.
The United States expressed outrage at the sodomy and abuse of power convictions handed down to Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who claims he was the victim of a political conspiracy hatched by Mahathir.
Human rights organizations have also asserted that Ibrahim had not been granted due process rights.
U.S.-Malaysia antipathy burst into the open during an Asia-Pacific summit in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, when then former vice president Al Gore broke with diplomatic tradition and criticized Mahathir's government.
Washington was also angered by Mahathir's criticism of globalization and Western dominated economic and financial institutions in the immediate aftermath of Asia's 1997 financial crisis.
The Washington-based Human Rights Watch on Monday issued a statement calling on Bush to press Mahathir to stop using the fight against terrorism as a pretext to quash political dissent and deny basic human rights in his country.
The group said at least 105 people were under arrest in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act (ISA), including Ibrahim, who is serving a 15-year prison term.
"Dr. Mahathir is manipulating the war against terrorism to justify the use of this repressive law," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of HRW's Asia division.
"The Bush administration should make clear that it rejects that kind of opportunism, and wants to see real improvement in Malaysia's human rights record starting with the repeal of the ISA," he added.
The law provides for arbitrary arrest and detention without trial for an indefinite period based on mere suspicion that one "may be likely" to commit an act deemed dangerous to national security, HRW said.
HRW also expressed concern about restrictions on free expression and free assembly, and restrictions on the press and academic freedom in Malaysia.
But though U.S.-Malaysian relations have been improving, they are still delicate.
Mahathir, who has a reputation for outspokenness has criticized U.S. policies in the Middle East, and is sure to bring up the plight of Palestinians.
He also wants sanctions lifted against Iraq, and is unlikely to be impressed with widely held assumptions that Baghdad could be a future target of the U.S.-anti-terror campaign.
Mahathir will spend Tuesday morning meeting members of Congress and will also see Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in place of Powell, who is abroad.
Tuesday evening, Mahathir is due to deliver a major speech to the U.S.-ASEAN chamber of commerce.
Mahathir, who is also Malaysia's finance minister, will also meet Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan.
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