The Hindu : Embassy attack angers S. Koreans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 14, 2003

International

International

Embassy attack angers S. Koreans

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE APRIL 13. The shock waves of the U.S.-led war in Iraq have begun to be felt across East Asia. While South Korea's embassy building in Baghdad is suspected to have been bombed by the American warplanes, China has openly and strongly condemned the looting that occurred at its diplomatic premises in Baghdad.

While Indonesia insisted that the U.S. should not install a puppet government in Baghdad, thousands of Indonesians held rallies across the country today to protest against the perceived atrocities of the U.S. forces in Iraq. The South Korean authorities tried to figure out how best to cope with a situation of popular demonstrations against not only the Iraq war but also the suspected American game plan of threatening North Korea in the military field itself.

The Roh Moo-hyun administration in Seoul did not formally make an issue of the reported bombing of the South Korean mission in Baghdad by American warplanes. However, the popular sentiment in Seoul was one of general dismay. The building on the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad was said to bear signs of damages that could only be attributed to an aerial bombing, most likely by the U.S. warplanes. The South Korean embassy was also believed to have been ransacked, and the strong suspicion was that the Iraqi looters had got into the act in the free-for-all climate that characterised the hours that followed the U.S. military thrust into Baghdad itself. Though South Korea's experience is somewhat reminiscent of the U.S. "accidental bombing" of China's diplomatic mission in Belgrade at the height of the Kosovo war, Seoul has not yet taken a definitive stand, given also the initial indications that there were no casualties in the incident.

As an `ally' of the U.S, South Korea has, instead, announced plans to send the first batch of "non-combat troops" to the Iraqi theatre by the end of this month to work under the overall American military command.

Commenting on the `robbery' at the Chinese embassy in Baghdad, the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing "deeply regretted the anarchy caused by the war in Iraq" and condemned the incident. The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, said in Jakarta today that any new Iraqi government should be "legitimate and representative" in character. "The U.N. holds the key for that," he underlined. The Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is likely to visit Russia soon for talks with the President, Vladimir Putin, on establishing new strategic linkages with Moscow and on the Iraq crisis.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

U.S. forces struck a deal with Iraqi General?

Fernandes statement a lie, says Pak.

Report on spying baseless: Russia

Sharon move to quicken peace effort

7 U.S. soldiers traced in good shape

Embassy attack angers S. Koreans

U.S. hopes scientist will spill beans

U.S. charges Syria with harbouring Iraqi leaders