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Kurds push to make strong legal case of
genocide against Saddam
29.8.2006
By Brian Padden, 29 Aug 2006
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Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, August 29, -- Kurdish
leaders in Iraq say they want to be sure prosecutors
build the strongest case possible against Saddam
Hussein and six of his military commanders charged
with genocide in the Anfal military operation
against Iraqi Kurds that prosecutors say killed
180,000 people. VOA's Brian Padden reports from
Erbil, in the heart of the Kurdish region of Iraq.
During the Anfal campaign against Iraqi Kurds in the
1980s, Dr. Yusif Aziz treated many victims of
chemical attacks.
"I am one of the witnesses of this place," said
Yusif Aziz. "I have personally smelled the mustard
gas. I have treated many people, hundred, thousands
of people I have treated them."
Dr. Aziz is the minister of human rights for the
Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq. He
has been working on the government's case against
Saddam Hussein and six of his military commanders
charged with genocide against the Kurds. Prosecutors
say 180,000 people died in the military campaign.
Dr. Aziz says the Kurds do not want revenge. They
want justice under the law.
"We will use the law against him," he said. "Only
the law will be the answer of Saddam Hussein."
Dr. Aziz is confident that the overwhelming
evidence, the mass graves, the testimony from
survivors and official Iraqi government documents
ordering mass killings, will be enough to convict
the accused in a court of law.
But Civil Rights Association Director in Kurdistan
Haval Maaroof is unsure about the government's
ability to prosecute this case.
"A case like this, it is a genocide," said Haval
Maaroof. "It is like the holocaust. So, I was
expecting more from the prosecution."
Maaroof says, within Iraqi law, there is no clear
definition of the crime.
"We have created the special criminal court to deal
with this case, the case of mass killings, which
happened in the Saddam's regime," he said. "But,
legally, if we want to define it, we do not have
legal articles, or legal text that define it."
Instead, he says, the prosecution will rely on
proving that Saddam violated international
human-rights accords.
Saddam's lawyers argue that the operation was aimed
at wiping out Kurdish separatist guerillas, who
sided with Iran in its war with Iraq.
Dr. Aziz says the prosecution's response concedes
that Kurds were fighting for independence, but that
the response of the Saddam regime far exceeds what
is acceptable, even in a time of war.
"Killing innocent people, as a woman and children,"
said Yusif Aziz. "There is not any law in the world
that will give you the right to do this."
Maaroof agrees that the abundance of evidence is
indisputable. But he says the prosecution needs to
make a strong case in defining the extent of the
crime, establishing the intent of the Iraqi
leadership to eradicate the Kurds, and linking
Saddam to the killings. |
Witness Ali Mustafa Hama (L) testifies in the
"Anfal" genocide against the Kurds on Tuesday.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (R).
Photo : AFP| Reuters
Chemical attacks against Kurds
Photos: KURDNET Archive
Death zone after chemical attacks. |
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"We have to look after the chain of command," he
pointed out. "Who gave the orders? We know that, in
Iraq, the
only person who could give an order was Saddam
Hussein."
The trial has been adjourned until September 11.
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