Taleban leader talks tough in radio interview

11.50 am

WASHINGTON - The leader of the Taleban in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a rare interview that the United States could not defeat his movement in its hunt for Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.

"Even if it (the United States) were twice as strong, or twice that, it would not be strong enough to defeat us. We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with us," he told Voice of America in an interview broadcast today.

The US State Department had tried to persuade the government-funded short-wave radio broadcaster not to give Mullah Omar air time, on the grounds that US taxpayers should not help the Taleban leader propagate his views.

The Voice of America went ahead anyway, wrapping the interview into a background piece which also included the voices of US President George W. Bush, a spokesman for the Afghan Northern Alliance and Islam specialist John Esposito.

VOA spokesman Joe O'Connell said the broadcaster had held the piece in the hope of getting an interview in Rome with the former king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, but went ahead when that interview did not materialise.

The broadcast, which translated Mullah Omar's Pashto into English, included about 150 words spoken by the fundamentalist Taleban leader, who has been protecting bin Laden.

VOA, paraphrasing Mullah Omar, said he refused to surrender bin Laden and was prepared to lead the Taleban in war.

Bin Laden is the prime suspect in the attacks on the World Trade Centre New York and the Pentagon on September 11, which left nearly 7000 people dead or missing and presumed dead.

The United States has demanded that the Taleban hand him over for trial and has deployed warplanes and ships toward Afghanistan, threatening military force if they do not comply.

"This is not just an issue of Osama bin Laden. This is an issue of Islam, Islam throughout the world. Islam's prestige is at stake, so is Afghan tradition. Whether Afghans uphold their tradition and protect their honour is another issue," Mullah Omar said.

He charged that the United States has subdued Muslim countries by putting pressure on their governments.

"America controls the governments of the Islamic countries. America keeps after them until they do its bidding. But these governments are very distant from their own people. The people ask to follow Islam, but the governments do not listen. The people are powerless against their governments because they are in the grip of the United States," he said.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Bush administration regretted VOA's decision to broadcast the interview and would consult again with the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America.

The State Department has a seat on the Board of Governors and thought that a majority opposed the broadcast.

"US taxpayers pay for this ... Frankly we don't want people walking around Afghanistan saying, 'I heard Mullah Omar on the Voice of America.' The association does not sit very well in our minds," Boucher added.

VOA's charter calls for accurate, objective and comprehensive news, a broad spectrum of American thought and institutions and a "responsible discussion" of US policies.

More than 100 VOA staff protested against the State Department's attempt to obstruct the interview, saying Mullah Omar's comments were legitimate news and should be broadcast.

"Central to our democracy is freedom of the press. As America's voice to the world, the Voice of America has a duty to exemplify that basic principle," they said in a statement.

In other extracts from the interview, as carried by The Washington Post last week, Mullah Omar said: "America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die.

"The United States should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries."

- REUTERS

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