Condemnation of Saddam execution widening rift, analysts say
CAIRO: The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has sent ripples of anger throughout the Middle East but may now be cause for a diplomatic rift between Iraq and its neighbors, analysts have said.
In the face of mounting condemnation at the manner in which his government organized the hanging of the Iraqi leader, Prime Minister Nour Al-Maliki lashed out saying Saddam’s execution was a “domestic affair and that he would reassess relations with the countries that had criticized the affair.
“The execution of the dictator is a domestic affair. It is related to the Iraqi people alone and we reject and condemn all official and unofficial statements made by some governments, he said at a ceremony marking Iraq’s Army Day.
“The Iraqi government may have to reconsider its relations with any country that does not respect the will of the Iraqi people.
Maliki’s statements came in response to strongly-worded denunciation from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, India, Malaysia and Egypt.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had labeled the execution as “disgusting and “barbaric in an interview with Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot.
The President also criticized the Maliki-government for making Saddam into “a martyr .
Mohammed Abdel-Salam, an expert at the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told The Daily Star Egypt that the intervention in internal affairs which Maliki fears will ensue if the Iraqi government does not curb the violence and the growing sectarian strife.
“There are Egyptian and Saudi Arabian fears over the Sunnis in Iraq, he said,
“Of course the Sunnis have committed gross acts themselves and some of their recent statements have frankly been shocking, but Saudi Arabia has hinted it will intervene if the situation turns into a mass oppression of the Sunnis. Especially as it seems the US is depending on a Shia-Kurdish axis to rule
Saudia Arabia had criticized the fact Saddam was executed on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, immediately after the Hajj pilgrimage.
There is a feeling of surprise and disapproval that the verdict has been applied during the holy months and the first days of Eid Al-Adha, an official statement broadcast on Saudi TV said.
It had been expected that the trial of a former president, who ruled for a considerable length of time, would last longer, demonstrate more precision, and not be politicized.
With so much criticism coming its way, the Maliki government had no choice but to lash out.
But Abdel-Salam finds it perplexing that an Iraqi official would talk about the country’s domestic affairs while that country itself it is under occupation.
He said “this concept of a country’s domestic affairs has ended, and this especially hold true in Iraq where many countries are already intervening.
“Countries didn’t criticize the decision to execute Saddam, but rather the way it was carried out and what happened at the execution. And it wasn’t just governments that were critical; citizens of the Arab world also spoke out.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke out for the first time since the execution, calling it “completely wrong in the way it was carried out. However, he said the execution should not overshadow Saddam’s “crimes .
The Vatican called the execution a tragic spectacle.
For its part, the European Union last week reiterated its position against capital punishment and criticized the planned execution of two aides of recently hanged former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
It called on Iraqi authorities to ensure a fair prosecution of crimes committed under Saddam s regime.
The EU opposes capital punishment under all circumstances, the German EU presidency said in a statement, underlining the bloc s longstanding position … with regard to the death penalty.
“It was a disturbing sight for them because it was disrespectful to the dead and didn’t honor the sanctity of death, Abdel-Salam explained.
