The Hindu : International : U.K. Army Chief apologises for prison abuse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 27, 2005

International

International

U.K. Army Chief apologises for prison abuse

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, FEB. 26. The British Army Chief, Mike Jackson, has offered an unprecedented apology to the people of Iraq for the conduct of his troops after three soldiers, accused of mistreating Iraqi civilians, were jailed and dismissed from the army by a court martial in Osnabruck, Germany on Friday.

Speaking soon after Daniel Kenyon, Mark Cooley and Darren Larkin were sentenced for up to two years for abusing and torturing Iraqi civilians at an aid camp, near Basra, in May 2003, Sir Mike said their behaviour had been "in direct contradiction to the core values of the army''. "I do apologise on behalf of the Army to those Iraqis who were abused and to the people of Iraq as a whole,'' he said and announced an inquiry into the way events at the Basra camp were handled.

High standards

"The Army sets high standards and demands that those standards are met. Those who fail to meet them are being, and will be called to account,'' he added.

The court martial and conviction of three soldiers followed discovery of photographs in which they were seen assaulting, punching and humiliating Iraqi civilians who had been caught allegedly "looting'' things from Camp Bread Basket. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, called the photographs "appalling'' and Sir Mike said that he wanted to "place on record how appalled and disappointed I was when I first saw those photographs at the outset of the trial''.

The soldiers claimed that they were simply following orders as part of an operation called "Operation Ali Baba'' to stop a looting spree at the camp, but the judge at the court martial said that this did not make their "behaviour any less serious''.

"When British soldiers in Iraq, or indeed anywhere, behave in the way that you behaved towards prisoners... .and abuse your power you had over them as you did, you cannot expect to receive much leniency,'' the Judge Advocate, Michael Hunter told them.

The lawyer for one of the convicted soldiers said that his client felt that a "significant number of other soldiers, including many senior to him, some of whom have been promoted, were involved in the mistreatment of Iraqis''.

There have been allegations that the abuse of civilians by British soldiers was more widespread and the scandal at the Camp Bread Basket was simply the "tip of the iceberg''.

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