The Resident Idiot, an apologist for the mass murderer Saddam Hussein has an article in Rediff in which he says
The only way to do justice in the present case is to put Hussein on trial in a United Nations-sponsored international tribunal with a multilateral composition which is seen to be credible and impartial. The trial must be public. During it, Hussein must be treated in conformity with the Geneva Conventions. He must not be humiliated or shown in a degrading light as he was during his first television appearance under occupation.
It was United Nations which did not utter a single word while Saddam and his sons were brutally killing their own citizens. In a speech recently Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari, accused the United Nations Security Council today of having failed to help rescue his country from Saddam Hussein. He said
"The United Nations as an organization failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny that lasted over 35 years, and today we are unearthing thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure."
and the Resident Idiot continues
An Iraqi tribunal nominated by the CPA or the Iraqi Governing Council will be a kangaroo court. The IGC is but a puppet of the CPA and lacks even a semblance of a representative status. A kangaroo court, in which the US is the judge, jury and executioner, would only compound injustice and tyranny in Iraq.
Yes, last time Iraq was ruled by one man from a minority community and that had all semblance of representative status. Now the governing council has members from all communities and for the Resident Idiot, this lacks semblance of representative status. According to Hoshyar Zebari
I'd like to remind you that the governing council is the most representative and democratic governing body in the region." He said, "The members of the Security Council should be reaching out and encouraging this nascent democracy in a region well known for its authoritarian rule."
Another complaint of the Resident Idiot is that
The international tribunal should also go into the issue of economic sanctions which Hussein's misadventures brought upon the Iraqi people, but which were imposed and prolonged by the Western powers. These have led to one million deaths, half of them of children since 1990
Isn't it ironic that Saddam was living in opulence while his people were dying due to the so called economic sanctions ? So Saddam does not have any responsibility to his people, but it is the western powers. And guess who was helping Saddam Hussein during the sanctions time to get even richer ? - The same United Nations
In the months before the recent fighting began, Saddam is believed to have shipped millions of barrels of oil to Syria at $9 a barrel, while the world market price was well above $30 a barrel, the two experts said. The Syrian traders used the Iraqi oil to replace domestic supplies which they exported for the prevailing market price, making a hefty profit. "Most of the money ended up in the pocket of Saddam Hussein," Ebel said
The trial of Saddam Hussein should not be carried out by United Nations. He should be tried by Iraqis, the people whom he exploited and brutalized.
Comments (4)
Also note that the RI fails to mention the "oil for food" program run by the UN for Iraq - the UN let Saddam buy such essential stuff as sports equipment and boats etc. with that money which was intended to provide basic necessities for the Iraqi people.
Posted by Shanti | December 29, 2003 7:58 AM
Posted on December 29, 2003 07:58
Shanti, and today Saddam Hussein has admitted that he has hidden $40 Billion dollars, all the while his people were dying of starvation due to economic sanctions. RI will obviously not report on it.
Posted by JK | December 29, 2003 5:21 PM
Posted on December 29, 2003 17:21
Jk, Is the UN's lack of action the only side of the story?
What about the lack of action from others? What about the weapons he did have and used? They were not made in Iraq.
"I’d like to remind you that the governing council is the most representative and democratic governing body in the region.” really? pray how many of the IGC are elected? And it represents whom? Ordinary Iraqis didn't elect any of the members-most of whom are expatriates.
More questions: If the UN is good enough to conduct the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, what makes it not good for conducting Saddam Hussein's trial? If Saddam Hussein is tried in Iraq, who will try him for international war crimes?
Lets have a single standard for everyone.
Resident Idiot is making a case for the west to preserve its standards. Thats the only way to counter terrorists who portray the west as a sham.
Posted by Someone | January 1, 2004 10:17 PM
Posted on January 1, 2004 22:17
Oops! Resident Idiot is none other than Praful Bidwai. I never thought I would find any of his arguments justified. I don't think anything the west does will satisfy him.
Anyway, my comments were about the points you underlined your blog. I won't waste my time reading Mr Biwai's rants.
Posted by Someone | January 1, 2004 10:25 PM
Posted on January 1, 2004 22:25