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The Vatican is currently making diplomatic efforts
to try to obtain the release of former Iraqi foreign
minister Tariq Aziz.
Aziz, 68, who was among the top decision makers of
the former Iraqi regime, was arrested and imprisoned
after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist
dictatorship.
The former foreign minister, who was placed on the
United States’ list of its 53 most wanted Iraqi
officials, has recently been interrogated and
confessed to crimes Saddam’s regime committed
against the Iraqi people.
Aziz, who is a Chaldean Catholic, held top posts
during the Baathists’ 35-year reign. He served the
Iraqi regime as foreign minister, information
minister, deputy prime minister, and as a member of
Saddam’s Revolutionary Command Council.
After Aziz was captured, the Vatican turned a blind
eye to his crimes and participation in the massacre
of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Iraq
and sent several messages to Iraqi and U.S.
officials in an attempt to obtain his release from
the clutches of justice.
The Vatican’s silence on the crimes of the Baath
regime will diminish the Holy See’s status among
Christian and Muslim nations.
Saddam killed over 1.5 million Muslims and left some
three million people homeless during his disgraceful
career, but human rights organizations and other
international bodies, including the Vatican, showed
little reaction to the crimes.
The Vatican should feel a strong sense of
responsibility about the crimes committed against
humanity and not just against Christians.
The Holy See’s valuable role in the international
arena is undeniable. The pope, as the leader of the
Catholics, is expected to take a stand against
oppression, since Jesus Christ (AS), as the prophet
and harbinger of peace and friendship, had a global
mission.
Nowadays, Christendom is susceptible to the general
decline in values and the growing negative cultural
inroads into Islamic and Christian structures.
Islamic and Christian leaders can stop the onslaught
though close cooperation.
Therefore, it is beneath the dignity of the Vatican
to come to criminals’ defense and use all its
political influence to obtain the release of an
imprisoned war criminal.
Iraqi courts will put Aziz and other criminals on
trial without paying any heed to their religious
affiliation.
So, the Vatican should not be so sensitive about the
trial of Aziz.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/
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