|
'Business as usual' at paper targeted by letter bombs
January 14, 1997
Web posted at: 5:15 p.m. EST (2215 GMT)From Correspondent Margaret Lowrie
LONDON (CNN) -- For the London staff of Al-Hayat, it was back to desks and daily routines Tuesday, a day after four letter bombs were received.
"We are continuing business as usual in Al-Hayat, as simple as that," said managing editor Khairallah Khairallah. "No threat, nothing can make us turn our back to our duties. I lived (through) much more difficult moments in Beirut."
The first letter bomb exploded in the hands of a security guard, and police detonated three other suspect devices. The scene was mirrored across the Atlantic in New York, where four more letter bombs, addressed to Al-Hayat's United Nations office, were found Monday.
Experts say one aim could be to intimidate the staff at what is one of the most respected Arabic language papers in the world.
"Al-Hayat is a very successful newspaper. It is very influential in shaping the viewpoints of elites and attentive public, not necessarily the general public," said Ibrahim Karawan of the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
"It enjoys a relative freedom of expression, compared to other Arab newspapers."
Monday's letter bombs apparently fit the pattern of similar devices recently received in the United States and at the paper's Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, office.
The U.S. letter bombs were sent to Al-Hayat's Washington office and to a Kansas penitentiary, where three convicted terrorists in the World Trade Center bombing are imprisoned. Authorities are investigating whether there is a link to those involved in the 1993 bombing.
The letter bombs sent to the U.S. were postmarked Alexandria, Egypt. Sources say the London ones also had Egyptian stamps and an Alexandria postmark.
But Egyptian officials maintain the bombs were not sent from Egypt. The Cairo daily Al-Ahram ran a prominent story Tuesday purporting to show it is not possible to send an explosive device through the Egyptian mail.
"We had no definite answer for this," said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "But I don't think that these letters have been sent from Alexandria. It is easy to imitate the stamps."
Other observers may have their own suspicions about an extremist Egyptian link, but Al-Hayat insists it does not know who is behind the letter bombs.
Those who work at Al-Hayat are still puzzled about the motive behind the attacks. The newspaper has received no warnings, no threats, no demands and no legitimate claims of responsibility since the letter bombing campaign began.
Related stories:
- Fourth letter bomb found at U.N. - January 14, 1997
- Third letter bomb found at U.N. - January 13, 1997
- Blast injures 2 in London office of Arab newspaper - January 13, 1997
- Letter bombs found in Washington area and federal prison in Kansas - January 2, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.