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The extraordinary pleas of Saddam's
right-hand man
29.5.2005
By Antony Barnett
Letters
from Iraq's former deputy PM Tariq Aziz insist he is
innocent and claim he is being held illegally
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Tariq
Aziz |
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He was the urbane, English-speaking deputy to Saddam
Hussein, the bespectacled face of the former Iraqi
dictator's regime, at home on the international
stage.
Yet nothing had been heard or seen from Tariq Aziz
since he surrendered to US forces on 24 April, 2003,
as Iraq crumbled around him.
Today The Observer publishes several letters from
the former cigar-smoking Deputy Prime Minister
handwritten from Camp Cropper prison in Baghdad.
Aziz scribbled these notes on pages from his
lawyer's diary who was with him when he was
questioned recently by the CIA and US politicians.
Two are in Arabic, the other three in English and
addressed to: 'The world public opinion.' Aziz
pleads for international help to end his 'dire
situation'. He claims he is innocent and is being
held unjustly without being allowed contact with his
family. One letter reveals questions he had been
asked about which politicians benefited from the
controversial UN oil-for-food programme.
Although Aziz supporters claim he is a 'political
prisoner' who did his best to restrain Saddam, his
opponents have little sympathy. They describe him as
the dictator's henchman who also bears personal
responsibility for crimes committed by the Baathist
regime, such as the gassing of Kurds at Halabja.
Aziz's letters are another remarkable snapshot into
how Iraqi's former political elite are being held.
This month the Sun published photographs of Saddam
in his underpants in his Camp Cropper cell and The
Observer revealed how prisoners are kept mostly in
solitary confinement in tiny cells with no natural
daylight.
The most recent letters by Aziz were written on 21
April, when he was being interviewed by US senators
investigating allegations of corruption surrounding
the oil-for-food programme, which allowed Saddam to
sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods and
services.
Writing in Arabic, Aziz says: 'We are totally
isolated from the world. There are 13 other
detainees here, but we have no meetings or telephone
contacts wth our families. I have been accused
unjustly, but to date no proper investigation has
taken place. It is imperative that there is
intervention into our dire situation and treatment.
It is totally in contradiction to international law,
the Geneva Convention and Iraqi law as we know it.'
In a letter dated 7 March and written in English,
Aziz states: 'We hope that you will help us. We have
been in prison for a long time and we have been cut
from our families. No contacts, no phones, no
letters. Even the parcels sent to us by our families
are not given to us. We need a fair treatment, a
fair investigation and finally a fair trial. Please
help us.'
In another letter, written in Arabic and English, he
says: 'I haven't been accused of anything,' and 'I
have not done anything contrary to law and human
behaviour.'
Speaking from Jordan, his son, Ziad Aziz, who was
jailed by Saddam, has defended his father's role as
the former dictator's deputy, claiming that he was
only following orders and would have been killed if
he disagreed. 'My father is now in poor health and
should be brought to trial or relased,' he added.
Aziz - the only Christian in Saddam's government -
was 43rd in the US 'most wanted' set of 55 playing
cards and not considered to be a member of the
innermost circle, dominated by the Tikriti clan.
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However, according to Indict, the committee seeking
to prosecute the Iraqi leadership, he was a member
of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council and is
therefore complicit in genocide and war crimes
against Iran, Kuwait and his own Iraqi people.
An Iraqi tribunal has also implicated him in the
1988 gas attack on Kurds in Halabja. There have been
unsubstantiated reports that Aziz will be a star
witness in any trial of Saddam, providing crucial
evidence that Saddam was personally responsible for
war crimes. |
Tariq Aziz genocide Kurds and Iraqis
Photo : Internet |
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One of Aziz's roles was as the principal contact for
foreign individuals involved in the oil-for-food
programme which has been dogged by allegations of
corruption. Saddam offered favoured people
allocations of oil which they could sell for huge
profits. In return, the former Iraqi leader took
illegal kickbacks that helped fund his regime.
In a note scribbled on his lawyer's diary, Aziz
says: 'I was asked if I had recommended giving money
or oil to President Chirac [of France], or Petros
Gali [former UN general secretary Boutros
Boutros-Ghali], Ekius [UN weapons inspector Rolf
Ekeus]. My answer is NO. The same to President
Megawati [Sukarnoputri of Indonesia]. NO.'
Chirac, Boutros-Ghali and Megawati have previously
strenuously denied receiving any oil allocations.
Ekeus, the Swede who led the UN's efforts to track
down WMD from 1991 to 1997, has claimed he was
offered a $2 million bribe from Aziz to doctor his
reports, but turned it down.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk
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