EU and Russia condemn Saddam hanging
The EU has today spoken out against the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
“The European Union has a very consistent stand … on opposing the death penalty and it should not have been applied in this case either – even though there is no doubt about Saddam Hussein’s guilt over serious violations against human rights,” Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said in Helsinki.
Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, had vocally opposed the US-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam, expressed regret that international opposition to the execution was ignored.
“The political consequences of this step should have been taken into account,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in Moscow.
Moscow warned that Saddam’s death could worsen the discord and violence in Iraq.
“The country is being plunged into violence and is essentially on the edge of large-scale civil conflict,” Kamynin said. “The execution of Saddam Hussein may lead to the further aggravation of the military-political atmosphere and an increase in ethnic and religious tension.”
South Africa called for UN intervention in Iraq: “South Africa remains convinced that his execution is not the panacea to the current political problems in Iraq but could fuel violence in an already volatile situation,” said Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa.
The government of the world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia, said it hoped Saddam’s execution “will not further separate conflicting parties in the effort toward a national reconciliation, which is a precondition in recovering Iraqi sovereignty”.
Fauzan Al Anshori, from the militant group of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, said Bush, too, should stand trial.
“Given the crime blamed on Saddam, it is unfair if George Bush is not also put on an international tribunal,” he said. “Saddam was executed for killings 148 people, Shiite Muslims, while Bush is responsible for the killing of about 600,000 Iraqis since the March 2003 invasion.”
