News

 

DATE=  11/18/97

      TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

    NUMBER=6-10448

     TITLE=THE TOURIST MASSACRE AT LUXOR

    BYLINE=ANDREW N. GUTHRIE

 TELEPHONE=619-3335

  DATELINE=WASHINGTON

    EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS



CONTENT=







INTRO:   THE DEATHS OF ALMOST 60 FOREIGN TOURISTS IN A TERRORIST 

         ATTACK AT THE FAMED TEMPLE AT LUXOR IN SOUTHERN EGYPT, 

         HAS DRAW A RAPID AND OUTRAGED RESPONSE FROM THE U-S 

         PRESS.  WE GET A SAMPLING NOW FROM __________________ IN

         TODAY'S U-S OPINION ROUNDUP.



TEXT:    THE CONSENSUS OF EDITORIALS IS THAT EGYPT CANNOT GIVE IN

         TO TERRORISTS, NO MATTER HOW HARD IT IS TO PROTECT THE 

         MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHO TRAVEL 

         THERE EVERY YEAR TO VIEW THE PYRAMIDS AND OTHER ANCIENT 

         WONDERS.



         IN EGYPT, AUTHORITIES HAVE BEGUN SHIPPING THE BODIES OF 

         THE SLAIN TOURISTS TO THEIR HOMES IN GERMANY, 

         SWITZERLAND, JAPAN, BRITAIN AND COLOMBIA.  IN ANOTHER 

         DEVELOPMENT, PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK HAS FIRED HIS 

         INTERIOR MINISTER AND REPLACED HIM WITH A CAREER POLICE 

         OFFICIAL, HABIB AL-ADLI.



         IN THE MEANTIME, THE COUNTRY'S MAIN ISLAMIC MILITANT 

         GROUP, AL-GAMA AL-ISLAMIYA, HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY 

         FOR THE ATTACK, THE LATEST IN ITS FIVE YEAR-ARMED 

         STRUGGLE TO OVERTHROW EGYPT'S SECULAR GOVERNMENT AND 

         REPLACE IT WITH AN ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.  



         IN TUESDAY'S [11/18] U-S PRESS, THE ATTACK WAS GREETED 

         WITH HARSH WORDS, AS IN THIS EDITORIAL FROM "THE KANSAS 

         CITY [MISSOURI] STAR."



VOICE:   "THE SLAUGHTER OF TOURISTS IN EGYPT DEMONSTRATES ONCE 

         AGAIN THE CRUEL INSANITY THAT DRIVES POLITICAL AND 

         RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST.  EXTREMISTS 

         PRESENT THEMSELVES AS MILITARY FIGURES WHO ARE WAGING 

         WAR AGAINST REPREHENSIBLE REGIMES.  BUT THEIR TARGETS 

         ARE FREQUENTLY HOPELESS INNOCENTS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE 

         LITTLE IF ANY CONNECTION TO THE GRIEVANCES PRESENTED BY 

         THE TERRORISTS.  THE DEATH TOLL IN LUXOR COULD HAVE BEEN

         WORSE IF THE FANATICS HAD NOT MET WITH RESISTANCE FROM 

         AUTHORITIES.   



         ..... BY DAMAGING THE ECONOMY, OF COURSE, THE TERRORISTS

         ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS EVEN WORSE FOR THE POOR PEOPLE THEY

         ARE SUPPOSEDLY TRYING TO HELP.  BUT MORE POVERTY AND 

         DESPAIR CAN MEAN MORE RECRUITS FOR THE EXTREMIST 

         ORGANIZATIONS.   THE EGYPTIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM FALLS FAR

         SHORT OF A TRUE DEMOCRACY.  LIKE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE 

         ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST, ORDINARY EGYPTIANS HAVE MANY 

         LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES AGAINST THEIR POLITICAL LEADERS.  

         BUT THE EXTREMIST ORGANIZATIONS SEEKING TO TOPPLE THE 

         GOVERNMENT HAVE NO INTEREST IN CREATING A MORE OPEN 

         GOVERNMENT; THEY SIMPLY WANT TO DICTATE TO EVERYONE 

         ELSE, AND DESTROY ANYONE WHO RESISTS."



TEXT:    "THE PORTLAND [MAINE] PRESS HERALD" SAYS: "THE KILLINGS 

         ... BETRAY THE TERRORISTS AS COWARDS," AND GOES ON TO 

         EXCORIATE THEM WITH THESE WORDS.



VOICE:   "HEARTLESS ACTS LIKE THE SHOOTING .... OF DOZENS OF 

         TOURISTS IN EGYPT ARE THE WORK OF COWARDS.  TERRORISTS 

         ARE COWARDS BECAUSE THEY FEAR THAT THEIR IDEAS ARE SO 

         WEAK THAT THEY WILL BE UNABLE TO S SWAY OTHERS TO THEIR 

         SIDE.  THEY FEAR HISTORY WILL PASS BY THEIR CAUSE AND 

         LABEL IT AS UNJUST.  THEY FEAR THE TRUTH.  IN EGYPT, THE

         COWARDS OPENED FIRE ON A BUSLOAD OF TOURISTS, MOST OF 

         WHOM HAD STEPPED OFF THE BUS AND BEGUN A TOUR OF A 

         THREE--THOUSAND-FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD HATSHEPSUT TEMPLE 

         NEAR LUXOR.  ..... THIS IS THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF 

         ATTACKS AGAINST TOURISTS IN EGYPT.  INSURGENTS, SEEKING 

         TO TOPPLE EGYPT'S GOVERNMENT IN FAVOR OF AN ISLAMIC 

         STATE, HAVE BEEN BLAMED FOR THE KILLING SPREE.  WHAT 

         THESE COWARDS BELIEVE IS IRRELEVANT, HOWEVER.  ANY 

         GRIEVANCES THEY HAVE CAN BE DISCOUNTED BY THE WORLD 

         COMMUNITY.  HISTORY SHOWS THAT JUST CAUSES, AFTER ALL, 

         PREVAIL WHEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT THROUGH WRITING, PROTESTS,

         STRIKES OR NON-VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.  THE WORLD 

         SHOULD NOT ALLOW COWARDS TO ADVANCE A CAUSE THROUGH ACTS

         OF TERRORISM.  THE ONLY ATTENTION SUCH PEOPLE DESERVE IS

         TO BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR HORRIBLE DEEDS."



TEXT:    YESTERDAY'S MASSACRE ELICITS THIS CONDEMNATION FROM "USA

         TODAY." 



VOICE:   "APPARENTLY THE SLAYINGS HAD LITTLE TO DO WITH THE 

         UNITED STATES' CURRENT SHOWDOWN WITH IRAQ.  THEY WERE 

         JUST PART OF AN INCREASING INCLINATION BY TERRORISTS TO 

         TARGET MASSES OF CIVILIANS.  IN EGYPT, AS IN OTHER 

         VICTIMIZED NATIONS, ATTACKING TOURISTS DELIVERS A DOUBLE

         BENEFIT TO TERRORISTS. FIRST, WORLDWIDE ATTENTION IS 

         CALLED TO THEIR CAUSE.  IN THIS CASE, EGYPTIAN 

         AUTHORITIES SUSPECT MUSLIM MILITANTS WHO HAVE BEEN 

         TRYING TO TOPPLE PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK SINCE 1992. 

         ..... SECOND, SCARING OFF TOURISTS CAUSES ECONOMIC 

         DAMAGE THAT EXTENDS THE IMPACT OF THE TERRORISTS' 

         ATTACK."



 TEXT:   "THE BOSTON GLOBE," ALSO OUTRAGED, ADDS THAT EVEN WITH 

         SUCH HORRIBLE INCIDENTS, AS IN THE EARLIER TERRORIST 

         ATTACKS IN ISRAEL, AGAINST BUSSES OR CAFES IN SHOPPING 

         AREAS, N O GOVERNMENT CAN GIVE IN TO TERRORIST VIOLENCE.



VOICE:   "GOVERNMENTS MUST STAND UP TO TERRORISTS AND OFTEN DO, 

         BUT TOURISTS WITH MAPS AND CAMERAS ARE NO MATCH FOR 

         ZEALOTS WITH MACHINE GUNS.  ..... THE BLOODY STRIKE WAS 

         A SHOCK TO THE GOVERNMENT, WHICH JUST TWO MONTHS AGO WAS

         ON THE VERGE OF DECLARING .... IT HAD WON ITS BATTLE 

         AGAINST THE MILITANT MOVEMENT.  ....[PRESIDENT] MUBARAK 

         WILL HAVE TO RETIGHTEN HIS GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS TO 

         CONTROL THE TERRORISTS.  ..... THE HUMAN TOLL 

         OVERSHADOWS THE TERRIBLE IRONY OF AN ATTACK COMING AT A 

         PLACE THAT REPRESENTED THE PINNACLE OF CIVILIZATION 

         4-THOUSAND-500 YEARS AGO."



TEXT:    WITH THOSE THOUGHTS FROM NEW ENGLAND'S LARGEST DAILY, WE

         BRING TO A CLOSE THESE EARLY RESPONSES FROM THE U-S 

         PRESS TO THE LATEST TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST TOURISTS IN

         EGYPT BY MILITANT ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS.   



NEB/ANG/EH 



18-Nov-97 1:33 PM EST (1833 UTC)

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Source: Voice of America

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