Asia Responds to Norway Shooting with Disbelief and Advice
By Kalinga Seneviratne
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
SINGAPORE (IDN) - The terror attacks in Norway on July 22 caught many Asians by surprise as Norway has branded itself very successfully over the years as a land of peacemakers. Now it seems that this image of Norway in particular and Europe in general is to undergo a 'market correction'.
Many Asian newspapers were quick to point out in editorials and opinion pieces that Christian fundamentalism is as dangerous as Islamic fundamentalism. We always hear a lot about the latter, particularly from western media sources, but rarely about the former.
Singapore's 'Straits Times' in an editorial titled 'What it says about Europe' pointed out that the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik has been prompted to act because of a strong belief that Europe's Christian tradition and its mono-cultural way of life is being threatened by outsiders.
"The acts of one person with known right-wing extremist connections should not be rationalized away as being purely random, but rather investigated for evidence as to whether his beliefs have wide currency. Europe's relevance to the modern world is in question," warned the Straits Times.
It went on to argue that the European Union's dragging out of the Muslim-majority Turkey's candidacy for membership is the most eloquent expression of Europe's xenophobia and "the people at large have digested the significance of the EU stance". It also added that the economic difficulties Europe is facing in the past five years has resulted in spending cuts and job losses, hurting national pride and sharpened a sense of decline, a situation in which demagogues and fanatics thrive.
"The growing appeal of nationalist political parties that blame their countries' problems on 'outsiders' reflects a dangerous lurch towards closed minds and societies," noted the editorial.
Thailand's 'Bangkok Post' said that Norway's attack as well as the Oklahoma City attack more than 15 years ago also by a Christian fundamentalist shows that terrorism has no nationality or religion, but has similarities in the mindsets of its perpetuators.
"Norwegian's creeds – recommending and justifying mass murders and violent revolt against European governments – seemed right out of the manifestos of the former terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. The Saudi Arabian saw pollution of Arab lands by Westerners and their anti-Islamic habits, and called for violence to bring down these regimes. Breivik saw similar fouling of Europe by Islamic newcomers, felt that Western governments should be overthrown for supporting such policies – starting with his own Norwegian government," noted the Thai newspaper in an editorial.
China's 'People's Daily' observed that there are two major reasons for extreme-right power to return to Europe. One is that the low-labour-cost manufacturing model of Asia has eroded Europe's welfare system resulting in public dissatisfaction with governments, and the other is immigrants who are filling in lower-grade service sector jobs. "The Muslim labour force from the Arab world competes for job opportunities that belong to the white men, which makes the extreme-right power return," the Chinese Communist Party controlled paper argues.
India's 'The Statesman' newspaper continued the theme prevalent in Asian newspapers that the 32 year old blue-eye blond Norwegian's terror attack consolidated the fact that terrorism is not confined to the Islamic fundamentalist types.
"The carnage reaffirms that Breivik has been profoundly influenced by the propaganda and paranoia of the racist far-right. The enormity of the tragedy in Norway illustrates that Islamist militants are not the only source of terror. Europe is no less vulnerable to the challenge posed by the neo-Nazi Right," the newspaper said in an opinion piece, adding: "Hate and intolerance are the actual enemies of Europe's multiculturalism, not the Muslims."
The 'Korea Herald' said "a madman calling himself a Christian fundamentalist or an anti-Islam crusader can be as dangerous to global peace as Al-Qaida". Pointing out that before they learned who the killer was, Norwegians suspected that it was an Al-Qaida terrorist, and that it was a result of allowing too many Muslims into the country, the Korean newspaper suggested that the Norwegian attack is a wake up call for European governments to the perils of right-wing fanatics. South Korea itself is well known to harbour a large number of Christian fundamentalists who have often created religious conflicts with its Buddhist population.
There has been widespread coverage in the Sri Lankan media on the Norwegian terror attack because Norway was involved in Sri Lanka's so-called peace process trying to negotiate a peace deal between the then Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) between 2002 and 2004. Since President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power they have been sidelined and accused of supporting LTTE terrorism. Thus, except for the polite expressions of sympathy from government leaders and dignitaries, a lot of the opinions expressed in the media have been on the theme "now they know what it is to be a victim of terrorism".
"The tragedy evokes one's memories of how Norway sponsored the LTTE in spite of the latter's mindless terror, which plagued Sri Lanka," noted 'The Island' newspaper in an editorial.
"LTTE death squads also targeted packed trains and busses, killing men, women and children alike. In spite of such heinous crimes, Norway had no qualms about backing the LTTE to the hilt internationally, allowing it to raise funds on its soil for terrorist activity and about urging Sri Lanka to make peace with the outfit notorious for its insatiable thirst for blood. Had the remedies prescribed by Norway been adopted by this country, it would still have been experiencing massacres like the Utoya killing," the paper argued.
"Now that the Norwegians know what the horror of terror is really like, it is hoped that they will gain wisdom to bid farewell to their misguided liberal values which have stood terrorists in good stead the world over (and not assist them) by being selective in fighting it (terrorism) or promoting it in a bid to tame their rivals," 'The Island' stated.
In a statement released to the 'Daily Mirror', Sri Lanka's Buddhist nationalist party, the JHU, which is aligned with the Rajapakse government, said that while sympathizing with the Norwegian people who have become victims of terrorism, "We ask Norway not to spread and encourage terrorism in any other country. We ask them to learn their lessons and not breed terrorists". This is an obvious reference to the current war crimes witch-hunt against the Sri Lankan government, which many people in the country suspect, is being led by Norway, where a large Tamil diaspora sympathetic to the LTTE lives.
Meanwhile Beijing's 'China Post' argues that it is time for a more aggressive approach towards religious fundamentalism, and religious leaders may have to reinterpret their own teachings to fit to the modern world, where the teachings may need to be believed spiritually rather than literally. "Religion can provide strength, healing, comfort and a motivation to do incredible acts of charity. But, misguided perversion of religion based on fundamentalist ideas can develop into beliefs that can lead to acts of horror," argues the 'China Post'. (IDN-InDepthNews/28.07.2011)
Copyright © 2011 IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook:
http://twitter.com/InDepthNews
http://www.facebook.com/pages/IDN-InDepthNews/207395499271390?sk=wall
Login Form
Links
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
