United Nations, Sept 24: Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has urged major world leaders to tackle the root causes of terrorism by reviewing their policies of conflict resolution, particularly in the Middle East. While condemning terrorism in any form, Megawati told the UN General Assembly yesterday that it was "difficult to refute" the impression held by many Muslims around the world that current policy towards the Middle East was "not only unjust, but also one-sided" in favour of Israel.
"We all must admit that the absence of a just attitude, exacerbated by being sidelined and ignored ... Has cultivated a climate of violence," she said. "Once the major powers behave in a more just manner ... Then most of the root causes of terrorism, perpetrated in the name of Islam ... Would have been resolved," she added.
The President outlined legislative measures and other steps that Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim nation -- had taken in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks on its own soil, most recently the August 5 bombing at a Jakarta hotel that killed 11 Indonesians and a Dutch banker. The attack has been linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah regional extremist network, which is also blamed for last October's bombings on the resort island of Bali that left 202 people dead, mostly western tourists. Bureau Report