International   

Pro-Saddam rallies continue

By Atul Aneja

BAGHDAD Dec. 20. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, paid an unannounced visit to Iraq today to meet his country's 1,300-strong contingent supporting the U.S. occupation, while there was no let-up in demonstrations by supporters and detractors of the captured former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Aznar had lunch with the members of the contingent at Diwaniyah, southern Iraq. Ten Spaniards have died in Iraq since August, but the worst attack took place in late November when seven intelligence officers were killed in an ambush by the Iraqi resistance.

Meanwhile, Iraqi guerilla fighters have reportedly killed two American soldiers during an attack on a fuel tanker near the Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad on Friday. About 30 young men, some bearing assault rifles surrounded the burning truck, shouting slogans in support of Mr. Hussein. The resistance also targeted the office of the Badr corps, the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq on Friday. The roof of the single story building, close to Baghdad airport, collapsed on account of the explosion. The SCIRI is represented on the U.S.-appointed Governing Council and has been vocal in demanding Mr. Hussein's trial inside Iraq. "We believe in a fair trial but Saddam Hussein has committed crimes inside Iraq against the people of Iraq such as Kurds in Halabja and Arabs residing in the southern marshland. So he must face justice inside Iraq," Sheikh Hamid Maale Seyidi, a spokesman for the SCIRI told The Hindu. There has also been a heated debate inside Iraq and internationally on whether Mr. Hussein should face the death penalty for his alleged crimes. The Governing Council met for the first time on Wednesday to study ways of appointing judges to a war crimes tribunal that could try Mr. Hussein. The U.S.-led occupation authority suspended the death penalty, and Iraqi officials have said they will decide whether to reinstate it when a transitional government assumes sovereignty by July 1.

Some members of the Council have hinted that that Mr. Hussein should be executed by summer. However, international human rights groups, the United Nations, the European Union, the Vatican, Germany and Denmark have rejected capital punishment as an option during Mr. Hussein's trial.

Captured in August?

The circumstances of Mr. Hussein's capture continue to remain a prime topic of discussion in political circles in the capital. Dr. Jassim Al Essawiy, a senior member of the Unified National Movement, a political party that does not have a representation in the Governing Council, told The Hindu that he was convinced that Mr. Hussein had been captured somewhere in August. "You should look at the leaves on the date palm tree outside the farmhouse where Mr. Hussein was captured. They are orange in colour that happens only in the summer months and not in winter when his detention is announced."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Pro-Saddam rallies continue
• Call for ban on Jackson's visit
• A freedom asserted in Pakistan
• MMA on agitation against Musharraf holding dual posts
• Pakistan Rangers, BSF meet
• Hizb assails Musharraf stand on U.N. resolutions
• Seoul wants to strengthen ties with New Delhi
• Indian worker awarded $200,000
• Indian becomes Parliamentary Secretary in Canada

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu