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Saddam Bids Iraqi People Farewell
An appeals court in Iraq issued the official resolution on the execution of former president Saddam Hussein yesterday. The former dictator has written a farewell letter to the people in which he calls himself a martyr and calls on Iraqis to close ranks in the face of the enemy – “the American occupants and Persians.” “Only unity among Iraqis, the sons of one people, can prevent enslavement,” Hussein wrote. The Arab world and the West have demanded that the sentence be commuted and members of the now-illegal Baath Party have promised cruel revenge on the United States for Hussein's execution. Iraqi authorities want the sentence carried out as quickly as possible.
Hussein's letter is dated November 5, the day on which he was sentenced to death by hanging for the deaths of 148 Shia in Dujail in 1982. Hussein's lawyer delayed releasing the letter until the last minute, hoping that his sentence would be overturned on appeal. That hope was crushed on Tuesday, when the appeals court ruled that Hussein be executed within 30 days. After that, Hussein's letter was posted on the Internet. Hussein warned that indiscriminate hatred “leaves no place for justice and makes you blind.” “My devoted people,” he concluded, “I bid you farewell and entrust my soul to the Almighty.”
A new wave of protest against the sentence has arisen in Arab and European capitals. Amnesty International called Hussein's trial “farcical.” Washington praised the court's decision. Iraqi officials and the Iraqi media are practically the only parties involved that have not expressed a strong position on the former dictator's execution. The appeals court has published its verdict however, which is a necessary step in its implementation. Many speculate that Hussein will be executed in secret, with his death announced only several days after the fact.
The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hyatt reports, citing Iraqi government sources, that efforts are being made to execute Hussein as quickly as possible, and preferably before New Year. Eid al-Adha, the Muslim “festival of the sacrifice,” is tomorrow. Hussein's death immediately following the holy day will add to the image he will undoubtedly obtain as a martyr.
www. kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 29, 2006
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