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Following are excerpts from an interiew with Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad, which aired on New TV on February 15, 2006:
Interviewer: We are here in Cairo and we have to ask you first of all because your visit here is about a tribunal that judges George Bush, Tony Blair, and Sharon. Why did you bother yourself to come here and... you are a politician... to be as a lawyer or in the head of this tribunal?
Mahathir Mohammad: I think this trial is important because there needs to be a lot of publicity regarding the crimes committed by these three people. So far they have been able to get away, literally, with murder, but nobody seems to pass any judgment on them. So we think that this trial would enable the public – the people here – to make a decision on their behavior presently.
[...]
Interviewer: What are the main characters, the main... Why did you choose these three people? And is it a real court?
Mahathir Mohammad: It's... The charge was made by the Egyptian lawyers. They decided to have this court. This court is... Of course it's not the normal, official court. It is a court of the people, so to speak.
Interviewer: What do you think that the reaction would be? Do you think that George Bush is aware of this court?
Mahathir Mohammad: Well he's incapable of noticing anything. But still, we need to have our say.
Interviewer: What are the results that you expect?
Mahathir Mohammad: Well, as one of the judges of course I'm not supposed to pass judgment until the evidences are finished, so I think so far, of course, we have heard the prosecution's case. We have not heard the defense. So when we hear the defense, we'll make a decision.
[...]
Interviewer: They accused you that you are an anti-Semite. So are you the enemy of the United States or an anti-Semite?
Mahathir Mohammad: They always like to label people as being anti-Semitic, so that even if you do and say innocent things you are supposed to be unfair. But other people are subject to criticism, subject to condemnation – including the Muslims. Now if you can condemn the Muslims – as terrorists, for example – why is it that when the Jews do something that is wrong, that is criminal, we cannot say anything? Why is it that they are supposed to be exempted from normal opinions of people?
[...]
Mahathir Mohammad: Ahmadinejad asked for the elimination of Israel, but Israel has actually eliminated Palestine. Israel doesn't allow the Palestinian state to exist. It is really called the Palestinian Authority. Now if Israel can insist that Palestine does not exist, why cannot some other person say that Israel shouldn't exist? Or if it wants to exist, it should exist in Europe, [from] where the Zionists came? Or in America? How about giving a little bit of Texas to make the State of Israel?
[...]
Interviewer: What do you think about George Bush and his behavior in the Arab world... and he wins the election, he is re-elected again? What do you think about the policy of the Bush administration also?
Mahathir Mohammad: Well, Bush is a very aggressive person, and he has no hesitation about using military power to achieve his objective. If thousands of people are killed – that's too bad. 500,000 children in Lebanon were killed, in this...
Interviewer: In Iraq.
Mahathir Mohammad: In Iraq, were killed... That's all right, as long as they achieve their objective. Such a person should never lead a powerful nation. It's very dangerous, because he's going to use military means to achieve his objective. He's going to kill people in order to achieve his objective.
Interviewer: You said once that the reelection of President Bush will cause sufferings for Muslims in the world. How can we stop this?
Mahathir Mohammad: The only thing, the only way to stop this is to ask the American people... There are a lot of very decent American people. Unfortunately, they are not too knowledgeable about the rest of the world. We have to inform them [about] the kind of damage that is being done by their leader, Bush, and they should not vote for a man who obviously told an open lie. He lied about the weapons of mass destruction, and yet he was able to win the election. It is very disappointing. It shows that a lot of Americans are not knowledgeable about what is being done by their leader. So we have a need to explain to the American people that this... We are not against America, we are just against the policies of certain governments. So Americans should choose their leaders very carefully.
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