Osama bin Laden ready to become TV star

Osama bin Laden supporters have decided to remind about his existence. On the Internet, a report was spread that in the nearest future, terrorist number one would appear with a TV appeal to the Muslim world.

The statement, in particular, reads: “We assure the Muslims of sheikh Osama bin Laden being in good health and all reports about his illness or wounding in Tora Bora being absolutely false. In the nearest future Osama will address to the Muslim community with a TV interview. America should be prepared for and fasten security belts. We will come to them from where they do not expect us. Yes, we will commit a retribution, though at a proper time and in a proper place.”

According to some information, the text belongs to Sulaiman Abu-Ghaith. This person already appeared with menaces towards the US and other western countries. He is a kind of spokesman for Osama bin Laden.

Not much is known about the Sulaiman Abu-Ghaith past. He is Kuwait citizen, as well as other supporters of Osama. Till 2000, he was a professor of a Kuwait medrese religious school. Though, after he started to criticize Kuwait constitution, the authorities of the country forbidden to him to teach. Abu-Ghaith with his family left Kuwait and settled in Afghanistan. Later, his family returned to Kuwait, while Abu-Ghaith remained with bin Laden.

After the September 11 terrorist acts, Abu-Ghaith many times menaced with new terrorist attacks. He has given several interviews to Quatar TV company Al-Jazeera, though nothing is still known about his location.

Actually, reports about new terrorists acts were never confirmed, so the bin Laden spokesman’s statements hardly should be taken seriously. On the other hand, they should not be completely neglected, too. For, if bin Laden appears in TV screens, this will be a serious moral victory of the terrorists. However that may be, we will be very soon make sure of Abu-Ghaith being right or wrong. Because bin Laden is said to appear with the TV appeal “in the nearest future.”

Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru

Photograph:SulaimanAbu-Ghaith

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/22/43064.html