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Malaysia to Host Conference on Terrorism for OIC Members
By Kazi Mahmood, IslamOnline Correspondent
JAKARTA, Dec. 14 (IslamOnline) - Malaysia will host a conference on terrorism for the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) next year to provide members a platform to discuss the issue at length, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Friday.
Syed Hamid Albar said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had earlier proposed the matter to OIC members and it was accepted.
The "OIC secretary-general has offered Kuala Lumpur to be the host for the conference and the Cabinet, which met on Wednesday, agreed to provide the stage," said Albar. "We are pressing for such a meeting of minds to be held as it is important that nations come together to discuss on approaches to counter terrorism.
"While the global community regards this [terrorism] as an issue of serious concern, not much effort has been done to find solutions to counter it."
He added that Kuala Lumpur, which would host the conference in mid-2002, was pleased that groupings such as OIC and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were taking measures to debate and discuss the issue.
On another matter, the Malaysian Foreign Minister said his nation's call for a United Nations-sponsored conference on terrorism had not taken off, as several "powerful countries" did not accept the proposal.
"Some countries may feel the conference will divert the global attention from the current problem," added Albar. "While some nations are at war with terrorism, others will have to prepare themselves on how to curb the problem and the best way is to discuss it collectively as terrorism transcends borders.
"Nevertheless, Malaysia will continue to suggest that a platform be set, so that terrorism could be discussed among nations," he added, "be it in a smaller grouping like OIC and ASEAN or at U.N.-level."
Kuala Lumpur's call for a U.N.-organized conference failed to gain support despite heightened terrorist attacks and the international war against terrorism.
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