KUALA LUMPUR, June 19: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad launched a vitriolic attack on the European race on Thursday, accusing them of warmongering, indiscriminate attacks on Muslims, greed and sexual deviancy.

Europeans, including “those who migrated and set up new nations in America, Australia and New Zealand”, wanted “to control the world again”, he said.

Predicting that he would be condemned as a “racist”, the premier said he was “not anti-European. I have many friends and acquaintances who are Europeans.”

“They are very clever, brave and have an insatiable curiosity,” he said.

But “unfortunately they are also very greedy and like to take forcibly the territories and rights of other people.”

In an obvious reference to the recent war on Iraq he said “they have demonstrated that they are ready to invent false allegations in order to go to war to kill children, old people, sick people”, considering them “mere collaterals” who cannot stand in the way of their objectives.

Europeans had “begun to invade and rule certain countries, ostensibly for their security but in fact to exploit the wealth in these countries,” he said.

Mr Mahathir, 77, was speaking at the annual congress of his ruling United Malays National Organisation for the last time before retiring in October after 22 years in power.

The leader of a moderate Muslim government, Mr Mahathir said the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States was “an excuse for the Anglo Saxon Europeans to return to their old violent ways.

“Their strategy to fight terrorism is through attacking Muslim countries and Muslims, whether they are guilty or not.”

Just over a year ago Mr Mahathir was invited to the White House to be thanked personally by President George W. Bush for his support in the war on terrorism, but his strong opposition to the war in Iraq has seen relations sour.

Mr Mahathir implied that the terror attacks on the US could be traced back at least partly to its support for Israel against the Palestinians.

“The Europeans hated the Jews even before they embraced Christianity,” he said, but after the Second World War “to force the Jews out of Europe they seized the territory of the Arab Palestinians to create the state of Israel”.

Mr Mahathir said Europeans also wanted to impose their cultural values on the world, including “unlimited freedom for the individual” and “the practice of free sex, including sodomy as a right.”

“Marriage between male and male, between female and female are officially recognized by them. What we call incest is not regarded as serious by them.

“The culture and the values which they will force us to accept will be hedonism, unlimited quest for pleasure, the satisfaction of base desires, particularly sexual desires. Our way of life must be the same as their way of life. Asian values do not exist for them.”

“It is not my wish to create hatred for the Europeans,” he said. “But it is very important that we know this race and their activities in the past because they will play a big role in our life and our race, our religion and our country.”

He said the Europeans’ new slogan was “regime change”, and warned the more than 2,000 delegates to the assembly: “Do not think we will not be targeted.”—AFP