/ 10 December 2001

A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE

THE mother of prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden said in remarks published on Saturday that she was not angry with her son though she does not approve the ”ambitions, ideas and actions attributed to him.” ”I do not approve the ambitions, ideas and actions attributed to him. But I deny what was attributed to me that I am angry with him,” the mother told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Madina newspaper. ”I, like all mothers, am satisfied and pleased with my son, and pray to God to guide him to the right path and save him,” added the mother, whose name was not given. She also deplored media reports about the wealthy bin Laden family — which claims to have severed ties with Osama – her grandchildren and herself. Saudi-born bin Laden, being hunted down by US forces in Afghanistan, is accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. He was stripped off his Saudi citizenship in 1994 after he refused to return to the kingdom. The New York Times reported that bin Laden had telephoned his mother the day before the attacks and told her something important was about to happen. – AFP