"There is no negotiation possible with terrorists," said Chirac

WASHINGTON, April 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Europe rejected a truce offer made by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in an audiotape the CIA said appeared to be genuine.

The audio cassette attributed to Bin Laden, Washington blames for the September 11 attacks, offered peace to European countries only if they "stopped attacking Muslims”.

European countries immediately and vehemently rejected the offer, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

In rapid fire succession, France, Britain, Spain and Italy - as well as the 15-member European Union (which expands to 25 countries on May 1) - rejected the offer as a “ploy by terrorists”.

"There is no negotiation possible with terrorists," French President Jacques Chirac – a staunch opponent of the invasion of Iraq - said in Algiers, where he was on a brief visit.

"Terrorism is a barbarous act which attacks innocent people, which cannot be justified by any reason or any cause," he said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said such proposals should be treated "with the contempt which they deserve".

Al-Qaeda, said Straw, "is a murderous organization which seeks impossible objectives by the most violent of means ... I'm afraid that it is yet another bare-faced attempt to divide the international community".

"I present a reconciliation initiative ... and we are committed to stop operations against all (European) countries if they commit to not being aggressive towards Muslims," said the voice on the tape, aired by al-Arabiya and then al-Jazeera satellite channels Thursday, April 15.

No ‘Attention’

Incoming Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Spaniards should "neither listen to, nor pay attention to" the Bin Laden tape.

"Those of us who seek peace, democracy and freedom do not need to listen or pay attention to him," said Moratinos.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it was "absolutely unthinkable that we could sit around a table for discussions with Bin Laden".

A German government spokesman said, "There cannot be negotiations with terrorists and criminals like Osama bin Laden".

European Commission President Romano Prodi said there was "no possibility" of European nations accepting such an offer.

"How could you possibly react to this statement?" he said in Shanghai.

"There is no possibility for a deal under a terrorist threat. It is completely impossible.”

Authenticated

The tape was authenticated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which said, "After conducting a technical analysis, the CIA assesses the voice on the audiotape ... is likely Bin Laden".

 A CIA official said the message "was probably recorded in the last several weeks, given the reference to the death of (Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed) Yassin" on March 22.

The 67-year-old Yassin, confined to a wheelchair, was assassinated in an Israeli helicopter strike on the Gaza Strip, drawing widespread condemnation from across the globe.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the voice was that of al-Qaeda leader.

"According to the information I have, it is the voice of Bin Laden," Powell said according to a Polish translation of an exclusive interview given to Polish Television.

As expected, Powell brushed off the truce offer, saying:  "We can not give in to these people like Bin Laden who spend their money on killing other innocent people. We have to fight them".

The tape is the first since January attributed to Bin Laden, believed to be hiding in mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

It also cast questions over the hiding place of Bin Laden, and how he could send a tape reportedly with German and English subtitles despite the intensive manhunt launched by U.S. and Pakistani troops down the borders with Afghanistan.

An Afghan official said March 6, that Bin Laden had escaped a recent Pakistani manhunt operation down the borders with Pakistan.

The U.S. intelligence is likely to be keeping a close eye on all electronic communications at the area.