The Hindu Business Line : What the international media had to say

Condemning the attacks broadly, some of the international newspapers have blamed the Indian political system for not having able to put a national security system in place to combat terrorism.

Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 28 It was just another terrorists’ attack in India on Wednesday night in the country’s commercial capital, Mumbai.

The whole world stayed glued to their television sets appalled. World leaders were quick to condemn the attacks. Every media reacted differently.

Condemning the attacks broadly, some of the international newspapers have blamed the Indian political system for not having able to put a national security system in place to combat terrorism. A quick snapshot of what some of the leading international newspapers reported on the Mumbai attacks.

Wall Street Journal: “The country’s antiterrorism effort is reactive and episodic rather than proactive and sustained. The reflexive Indian response to almost every act of terrorism is to apportion blame rather than to seek a solution that will prevent, or at least minimise, its recurrence.

“Even Indonesia – a still-poor Muslim-majority nation where sympathy for militants runs deeper than it does in India – has done an infinitely better job of recognizing that the protection of citizens’ lives is any government’s first responsibility. A superbly trained, federal antiterrorism force called Detachment 88 has ensured that the country has not suffered a terrorist attack in more than three years. The country’s institutions and culture have abetted a widespread sense of Muslim separateness from the national mainstream. The country’s diplomats and soldiers have failed to stabilize the neighbourhood. The ongoing drama in Mumbai underscores the price both Indians and non-Indians caught unawares must now pay.”

The Jerusalem Post: “Israeli defense officials have criticized the way Indian security forces initially handled the hostage situation in Mumbai, claiming that the forces prematurely stormed the besieged areas. In hostage situations, the first thing the forces are supposed to do is assemble at the scene and begin collecting intelligence, said a former official in the Shin Bet’s security unit. In this case, it appears that the forces showed up at the scene and immediately began exchanging fire with the terrorists instead of first taking control of the area.”

New York Times: “For Amit and Varsha Thadani, Wednesday night in the Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel was supposed to be a night they would treasure forever: the lavish start of a life together, with a wedding reception for over 200 family and friends. It may be an anniversary they will dread forever. About 9:45 p.m., as they had just finished dressing for their party in a second-floor room in the Heritage wing of the hotel, they heard the first crackle of gunfire, followed by commotion outside their room and instructions from the hotel front desk to stay put.

“They did stay put, for more than seven hours, much of it huddling on the floor of their bathroom, trying to keep themselves calm. Their phones rang constantly, with updates and questions. At one point, Ms Thadani confessed, she stopped answering. She did not want to talk to anyone. There was more gunfire, along with two loud explosions, one of which flung open their door and windows. Next door, they heard gunmen shoot a female guest and then her screams. “We could sense she was being dragged around,” Ms Thadani recalled.”

Times of London: “Last night’s attacks also appear to fit into a campaign to hit busy urban targets, popular with foreigners and wealthy Indians, to cause maximum damage to India’s economy and international reputation. Deccan Mujahideen (the terrorist outfit that claimed ownership to these attacks) could be an offshoot of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamist group unknown until it said it was behind multiple bomb attacks on Indian cities in the past one year.”

The Guardian: ‘The mayhem has left India’s financial capital’s skyline smoking, and blood on the streets. Mumbai, a metropolis of 19 million people, has been reduced to a ghost town – with many international firms cancelling travel and closing offices. World leaders were quick to condemn the attacks. The chorus was led by the US president-elect, Mr Barack Obama, who vowed the US would work with ‘India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks’. Recently improved relations between Pakistan and India were under strain after the Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, pointed the finger of blame at ‘external forces’.

“One captured militant was reported by Indian sources to be a Pakistani national. The accusations raised fears that the peace process between the two nuclear rivals would stall. ‘It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country,’ Dr Singh said in a televised address. The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of terror by choosing high-profile targets.”

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