AMMAN, Jordan, June 12 (UPI) -- Jordan's ad-Dustour said in its editorial Monday that four Jordanian parliament members who paid their respects to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's family should apologize to the Jordanian people and resign from Parliament. The mass-circulation daily complained the four Islamic legislators had insulted the Jordanian people's sentiments and should immediately quit their positions as representatives of the people. It said if Zarqawi had denied his involvement in the November suicide attacks on three hotels in Amman, in which 60 people were killed and 100 others injured, Jordanians would not be so upset over the MPs visit to the Zarqawi home to offer their condolences. "The worst that can be done now is to try to justify the unfortunate move by the four MPs as individual freedom and a duty towards a tribe that has disengaged its links with Zarqawi," it argued. The paper, which describes itself as independent but is partially owned by the government, described as a "disgrace" a statement issued by the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, on its members' visit to the family home. "It is unfortunate for the IAF to abandon its political experience to think the country is divided between those who agree with this dirty war as jihad, despite the victims that have fallen," it said. The daily warned the Islamic movement might find itself not only in a confrontation with the regime, but with the people as well.
Kuwait's al-Rai al-Aam welcomed the elimination of Zarqawi in Iraq, saying it was a quick success for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and a good start for his government. The pro-government daily said Maliki's "success in administering internal policies has led to other domestic, regional and international successes." It insisted that some of Iraq's neighbors did not like the "democratic shift" in Iraq and fears the democracy would be exported to their countries. It said the Jordanian government was "very scared of the new Iraq" as it warned of a "Shiite crescent" extending from Iran to Lebanon. But it appears the shock of the triple suicide attack in Amman, it said, prompted Jordan to start acting wisely in its policy towards Iraq and provided important intelligence information on Zarqawi. It asked whether other countries, "whose hands are stained with supporting terrorists in Iraq," would benefit from the "big Jordanian success" in improving relations with the new Iraq.
The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi said it doubted the three Arab inmates held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo prison had committed suicide because Islam firmly forbids suicide. The independent Palestinian-owned daily added it suspected the three men died under torture, stressing that most of those held in Guantanamo are Muslim fundamentalists who know their ideology who have memorized the Koran and what it means. "Torture is not new to the American administration, which did it in Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo itself where those who were released spoke about horrifying stories of mental and physical torture there," it argued. The daily, distributed in many Arab capitals, noted the inmates in this "illegal prison" have been held for years without being charged and will probably remain there as long as the administration insists on keeping them until it ends its "war on terror that could last another 50 years." It said the European Union, as a partner in the war on terror, should take legal and political action to end the suffering of the 400 prisoners in Guantanamo, "most of whom are innocent from any crime except being Muslims found in Afghanistan when the war broke out." It called for an international probe into the prison and measures taken inside by the U.S. authorities to reveal "the real face of this American administration and its blatant violations of human rights."
Egypt's al-Gomhuriya said in its editorial that the United States, which claims to be the sponsor of human rights in the world, has done nothing to protect the rights of prisoners at Guantanamo, which it described as a "torture camp." The semi-official daily said international human rights reports have already complained about "all types of physical and moral torture" of prisoners, as well as abusing their beliefs and holy books. It called on shutting down this detention center in Cuba and other secret prisons run by the U.S. authorities where torture is rampant in the name of the war on terrorism. The mass-circulation daily also called for investigating interrogation officials responsible for torture, saying the United States claims defending freedom, democracy and human rights "to a point of suicide."
The United Arab Emirates' Gulf News commented it did not know how three inmates in Guantanamo managed to prepare bed sheets to commit suicide without drawing the attention of the guards. But it asserted that more than four years after the prison opened, calls for its closure will grow louder. The English-language daily argued that Guantanamo only harms the U.S. image in the rest of the world and "saps its moral authority." It said while the Statue of Liberty "stands as a beacon to the world, Guantanamo acts an insult to all that is best in America... and as a glaring contradiction to values that are cherished by Americans." The paper said the events at Guantanamo have not been worth the damage done to America's image. "In a conflict against terrorism where goodwill is vital, Guantanamo is a self-inflicted festering wound that does nothing but give comfort to America's enemies," it stressed. "It must be shut down and shut down now."
