SADDAM TRIAL: THE HUMILIATION OF ARAB WORLD
Daily Trust July23, 2004, Nigerian Tribune July12, 2004, New Nigeria
July14, 2004
At
last the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Al-Majid Hussein is charged to court on the allegation of crimes against humanity. The
tribunal is likely to concentrate its trial on the last regime’s military campaigns and the suppression of revolts by
Kurds and Shias after the Gulf war. The jury may also interrogate him on crimes committed during the war with Islamic Republic
of Iran and the invasion of Kuwait.
The trial may be predetermined
by the way and manner American government has staged managed some of the unfolding events with the imposition of surrogate
rulers and judges. The legitimacy of the interim government of Iraq
just like the established court is questionable as there is no clear-cut basis on which constitution is to be used for the
trial. The illegitimacy of the court is similar to the invasion and occupation of Iraq without any sanction by any rational international law. If justice must be
done the American claim of Weapon of Mass Destruction as the genesis of the invasion must also be proved.
Before it handed over power
to Iraqis, the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority had suspended the death penalty, which was immediately reinstated by
the new regime. It shouldn’t be forgetting that President George Bush immediately after the capture of Saddam publicly
declared that “He (Saddam) is a torturer, a murderer, they raped rooms. This is a disgusting tyrant who deserves justice,
the ULTIMATE JUSTICE.” It is easy to conclude on the fate of their victim since technically Saddam is in the custody
of the Coalition troop, while legally (I wonder what it means) he is within the jurisdiction of Iraqi government.
On his first appearance
in court, where he described the arraignment as confused theatrical performance and charged that President Bush is the real
Criminal, there is strong indication that Saddam was neither granted access to his lawyers nor to his family and witnesses.
The denial of some of those rights is viewed as gimmicks to prevent Saddam from indicting prominent figures within American
government, Arab leaders and some European nations who supported him financially and equipped him militarily.
If anything, fairness dictates
that all parties in the latest atrocities in Iraq
before the capture of its former leader must be arraigned. How many innocent Iraqis were killed through the Coalition Force
aerial and ground bombardment; how many innocent souls were mauled after the invasion in the name of house-to-house search,
how many children have broken and amputated limps; how many Iraqi prisoners in the detention camp of the Coalition forces
were humiliated and shamed nakedly; how many resistant fighters and followers of Shiite Cleric Muqtada Sadr, were mercilessly
bombarded even in the mosque? In fact how many atrocities committed against defenceless Iraqis can be listed against the superpower
after the successful invasion and neocolonialism in the new millennium? Already the humiliation of Saddam is raging day by
day through the edited remorseful pictures, the western media have started categorizing his sins and using wicked nomenclatures
such as dictator, tyrant to describe him even when competent a court of law is
yet to prove him guilty in a fair trial.
While one can list the
ills also perpetrated by the so-called liberators, the Arab leaders should be blame for the indignity, humiliation and shame
Iraq has gone through in the hand of their
colonizers. It should be recalled that Arab leaders collaborated with some developed countries in encouraging the then Saddam
Hussein to provoke, harass and attack non-Arab Muslim neighbors in the region. The Arab world supported Iraq against Iran,
a non-Arab nation (Persian) in eight-year senseless war just to tame further Islamic revolution by Ayatollah Khomeini into
monarchical kingdoms. The Arabs also ignored Iraq attacks in the 1980s
on Kurds (non-Arab) who have strong base in Turkey.
It is incredible that Arabs
with their ancestral creativity, celebrated bravery and legendary empires, are presently playing second fiddle in the global
arena. While other nations were busy inventing new technologies and equipping themselves militarily and politically, Arab
countries allowed their oil discovery to becloud their sense of reasoning as they engaged in importing flimsy items such as
caned food and clothes. Just imagine that Israel that annexed their cities
in Palestine and the Golan Height in Syria
is undisputable power to reckon with within the Middle East with latest technology in armaments
and weaponry, while their population is as small as one of Arab capitals. That is why the Arab leaders are cowards to challenge
Israel on the need for the liberation
of the Palestinians.
The Arab world may unconsciously
start to dig their own grave by giving tacit support for the invasion of their region, where foreign troops are fully armed
and stationed. It is now easier for their nations to be forced and fall into the so-called western liberalization and democratization,
probably like that of Iraqis. Afterall, apart from Egypt,
most Arab nations in the region are ruled by kings who own the assets and properties in their kingdoms.
The most unfortunate incident
by Arab leaders in the face of near defeat is to wipe up religious sentiment to win sympathy of the large followers of Islamic
faith when most of their leaders have hobnobbed with the so-called infidels. The word Arab-Sheik, which means a scholar or
elderly person, has in recent times become synonymous with a wealthy Arab who spends extravagantly on women, expensive alcoholic
wine, automobile and can delightedly waste huge fortunes on idle pastime and gambling.
Where are the Arabian nobility
and bravery we read in the holy books and literature? The present generation has sold out their birthright. Even when others
including non-Muslim nations were staging peaceful rallies and protests against the attack on Iraq sovereignty, most Arab countries kept mute, with some arresting potential
demonstrators. When some of the Saddam’s family and aides sought asylum, their brotherly Arab nations, we were told,
refused to grant them the offer. In fact it was Arabian elite within the Iraqis that exposed the location and hideout of Saddam
and his children just for pecuniary inducement that is sourced from their lands by their colonizers. What a life of utter
disgrace and moral turpitude will betrayers and traitors live even in the midst of opulence and artificial security?
Any Muslim who thinks supporting
an Arab is protecting Islam must have a rethink. Islam is not a religion based on ethnicity, tribal marks, geographical location
and colour of skin but a faith that promotes compassion, good conduct, faithfulness to the truth, shared love, and mutual
coexistence with others. If Republic
of Germany, France and even the
Vatican could condemn the attack on a
Muslim nation, while other Arab nations are cautious not to annoy the Super Liberators, one wonders who is more Islamic.