DATE=11/8/1999
TYPE=EDITORIAL
TITLE=EDITORIAL: IRAQI WAR CRIMINALS
NUMBER=0-08520
CONTENT=
THIS IS THE FIRST OF TWO EDITORIALS BEING
RELEASED FOR BROADCAST 11/8/99.
Anncr: The Voice of America presents differing
points of view on a wide variety of issues. Next,
an editorial expressing the policies of the United
States Government:
Voice: For years, the Iraqi regime of Saddam
Hussein has systematically committed war crimes
and crimes against humanity. Such crimes continue
today. And they are not likely to stop until the
rest of the world finally says, "Enough!"
The crimes of the Saddam Hussein regime go back to
his rise to power. During the 1980s, his forces
slaughtered tens of thousands of ethnic Kurds in
northern Iraq, many with poison gas. More crimes
were committed in 1990 and 1991 when Iraqi forces
illegally occupied Kuwait. After a U.S.-led
international coalition liberated Kuwait, Iraqi
forces continued to commit crimes against humanity
throughout the country.
Serious crimes continue today. In southern Iraq,
a systematic effort is underway to ethnically
cleanse the Shia from their homes and destroy the
marshes in which they have lived for more than a
thousand years. Similarly, Saddam's regime
continues to dispossess Kurdish citizens of their
homes and property in the areas around Kirkuk
[Keer-KOOK], Khanaqin [Khahn-ah-KEEN], Sinjar
[Sin-JAHR], and other districts. This is part of
an effort to force them to relinquish their
Kurdish identity or face deportation. And all
Iraqis are subject to persecution by one of the
world's most ruthless secret police forces - in
which Saddam Hussein's sons, Qusay [Koo-SIGH] and
Uday [Oo-DIE], both play leading roles.
Clearly, the Iraqi criminals should be cut off
from the rest of the world and brought before the
bar of justice. But while such criminals as
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and former
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic have been
indicted by an international war crimes tribunal,
some countries still view Saddam Hussein and his
clique as legitimate national leaders.
They are viewed, said David Scheffer, United
States ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues,
"as men with whom people want someday to do
business." But in reality, said Ambassador
Scheffer, "these are thugs who terrorize what was
once, and could again become, a great nation."
The U.S. is determined to see this clique of Iraqi
criminals stripped of their power, and if
possible, brought to justice. They should not
benefit from contracts, trade, or initiatives that
would bestow any legitimacy on their criminal
enterprise in Baghdad.
Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the
policies of the United States Government. If you
have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A,
Washington, D-C, 20547, U-S-A. You may also
comment at www-dot-voa-dot-gov-slash-editorials,
or fax us at (202) 619-1043.
05-Nov-1999 11:17 AM EDT (05-Nov-1999 1617 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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