U.S. and its allies have clearly breached international law and violated the UN Charter, Mahathir

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent 

Kuala Lumpur (IslamOnline) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday, March 24, 2003 that the U.S. assault against Iraq was in breach of the UN's charter and urged an immediate cessation of hostilities in Iraq.

The United States and its allies through their unilateral military action against Iraq have clearly breached international law and violated the United Nations Charter, Mahathir told the Parliament.

The Malaysian Premier was moving a motion which called on members of the House to strongly condemn the military action against Iraq, said Bernama news agency.

Mahathir said the U.S. and its allies had launched the attacks on Iraq without the support and approval of the UN Security Council adding that there were no rational for grounds at all for such an attack.

Earlier during the weekend, the Prime Minister urged the opposition parties in Malaysia to support his government's condemnation of the war, adding that in these circumstances the country had to be united.

"The unilateral military action is a pre-emptive strike...aimed at regime change in Iraq and is a violation of that country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mahathir said.

The Parliament is expected to vote the motion presented by Mahathir with a huge majority, if not with a hundred percent vote. All the political parties in the country voiced their condemnation of the U.S. and Britain, as well as Australia for starting this war.

Mahathir also appealed to all parties in the conflict to speedily return to the negotiating process peacefully and in ensuring that Iraq abided by UN Security council resolutions if indeed it had weapons of mass destruction.

Malaysia supports the return of the UN's weapons inspectors in Iraq and agrees with France and Germany that the inspectors should have been given more time to finish their work.

Mahathir said in front of a packed Parliament that the House should also resolve to urge the United States and its allies to respect the human rights of the people of Iraq and international humanitarian principles specially the "Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War."

He said that as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), he would seek the cooperation of NAM members and like-minded countries in upholding the principles of international law and the UN Charter in handling issues pertaining to relations among nations.

Malaysia will lead the NAM for the next three years, it organized the NAM's 13th session in Kuala Lumpur and worked very hard to get the organization to condemn in advance any U.S. aggression over Iraq.

Fears of Civilian Casualties

On Sunday, Mahathir said his fears of civilian casualties in the U.S. war over Iraq were being confirmed.

"This is what we fear. Right from the start we have said that when there is a war the victims will be civilians, children, old folks, women who are not related to the war at all, they become the victims," said the Prime Minister after the Formula 1 race in Malaysia.

He said that was why Malaysia had opposed any settlement of conflicts between countries through war. The Malaysian premier said his country was ready to send humanitarian aid to Iraq.

Rowdy Protests in Indonesia

Meanwhile in Indonesia, thousands of people took to the streets of several cities across Java on Monday to protest at the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, with some denouncing President George Bush as a "terrorist" and "vampire," reported the Jakarta Post.

Shouts of "Destroy the United States," were heard from the protesters, mostly women. They carried antiwar and anti-U.S. banners and posters, including ones reading, "Capture Bush Dead or Alive" and "No Blood for Oil."

The rally was organized by the Hizb Tahrir, an organization banned by some Western countries, including Germany for alleged terrorist activities.

The group has very strong presence in Indonesia and is campaigning for the establishment of a Khilafa, a single leadership for the Muslim world.

In Jakarta, close to 2,000 protesters took turns staging peaceful rallies in front of the tightly-guarded United States Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

"We urge the international tribunal to bring Bush, Blair, and Howard to court as terrorists and war criminals," said one of the protesters according to Antara news agency.

Later in the day, some 1,000 protesters, organized by a coalition of some 40 organizations, including Christian and Buddhist groups, also rallied in front of the mission.

The protest ended with the burning of an effigy of Bush and the reading of a joint statement demanding an immediate end to the invasion of Iraq.

The Indonesian government was also urged to cut all ties with the U.S. and Britain in protest against the war on Iraq.