hi everyone, I was looking around for a thread on Saddam's trial, if we have one I'm sorry, but this is one the whole world will be watching...
Kurd Poison Gas Victims Demand Death for Saddam
"HALABJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Kamil Qadir, lungs wrecked by a poison gas attack on Halabja 16 years ago, sat glued to his television to watch Iraq's Saddam Hussein in the dock for that and other atrocities committed during 35 years of Baathist rule.
Qadir was 15 when chemical bombs landed on this Kurdish town near the Iranian border in 1988, wiping out his entire family and leaving him with severe burns and respiratory problems.
On daily medication, he still suffers flashbacks from the attack which killed more than 5,000 people.
He smiled wryly when an Arab news channel showed people in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit challenging the legitimacy of the tribunal that outlined charges against the ousted president on Thursday.
"They don't know what real problems are," he said between coughing fits. "I have no pleasure in life because of my lungs.
Seeing Saddam in front of an Iraqi judge provides only limited satisfaction, he said. Like many in Halabja, he is not convinced any trial will bring real justice.
"Those defending Saddam do not know him, but neither do those who are judging him," Qadir said.
"Saddam killed 5,000 people here without a trial and now people talk about justice for him. And where is the justice for the foreign companies who supplied him with materials for his chemical weapons, or the Western politicians who supported him?"
Saddam appeared to shrug off responsibility when the Halabja attack was listed at Thursday's hearing among charges that could lead to a formal indictment for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"Yes, I heard about that in the media," he said.
Halabja residents worry that Saddam might escape the death sentence, a penalty which many view as insufficient. Iraq's interim government is considering restoring the death penalty, suspended during the U.S.-British occupation.
"I don't think Saddam will be executed, but people from Halabja want him chopped up into pieces," said Ibrahim Hawramani, manager of the Halabja monument center established in 2003 to commemorate victims of the gas attack.
The center contains an exhibition of harrowing photographs taken in the immediate aftermath, showing streets littered with twisted corpses, mostly women and children.
'WEST SHARES RESPONSIBILITY'
According to Hawramani, more than 200 foreign companies have been identified as suppliers of materials for Saddam's chemical weapons. They and everyone else who facilitated the crimes of the regime should be prosecuted, he said.
"America brought Saddam -- they provided him with money, supported him against Iran (in the 1980-88 war) and then used his Baath party as a weapon...they have no excuse," he said.
Survivors of the Halabja attack have provided testimony from over 7,000 witnesses which they hope will help convict Saddam.
The testimonies were collected by the Anti-Chemical Weapons Society which supports victims' families and documents evidence.
"We are worried that Saddam won't be given the death penalty," said Aras Akram, a member of the society who lost his parents and 10 other close relatives in the attack.
Akram said many survivors still suffered from blindness and breathing problems and that there were high rates of colon cancer and infertility among Halabja's male population.
"We're trying to draw attention to these problems but until now no specialized doctors are working in the area," he said.
On the streets of Halabja, Saddam's court appearance brought jubilation at his humiliation, but concern that he would not receive the punishment residents believe he deserves.
"We are very afraid that he won't face the right justice," said Qadir Ahmed, who also works at the monument center. "But when we see him broken it gives us great satisfaction. He should be executed as a common criminal."
Ahmed helped bury 1,500 people in a communal grave after the attack, which killed his father, three sisters and two nephews. Ten years later his mother died of gas-induced nerve disease.
Despite losing a brother last year to illness caused by the chemical bombing, 40-year-old carpenter Batyal Hazar expressed rare support for the trial process.
"To see Saddam in front of a judge is the wish of all Kurdish people," he said.
"Of course Kurds are unhappy Saddam should get a trial. But the United States is democratic and looks at guilty people and then gives them a chance. We should be like that.""
Kurd Poison Gas Victims Demand Death for Saddam
"HALABJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Kamil Qadir, lungs wrecked by a poison gas attack on Halabja 16 years ago, sat glued to his television to watch Iraq's Saddam Hussein in the dock for that and other atrocities committed during 35 years of Baathist rule.
Qadir was 15 when chemical bombs landed on this Kurdish town near the Iranian border in 1988, wiping out his entire family and leaving him with severe burns and respiratory problems.
On daily medication, he still suffers flashbacks from the attack which killed more than 5,000 people.
He smiled wryly when an Arab news channel showed people in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit challenging the legitimacy of the tribunal that outlined charges against the ousted president on Thursday.
"They don't know what real problems are," he said between coughing fits. "I have no pleasure in life because of my lungs.
Seeing Saddam in front of an Iraqi judge provides only limited satisfaction, he said. Like many in Halabja, he is not convinced any trial will bring real justice.
"Those defending Saddam do not know him, but neither do those who are judging him," Qadir said.
"Saddam killed 5,000 people here without a trial and now people talk about justice for him. And where is the justice for the foreign companies who supplied him with materials for his chemical weapons, or the Western politicians who supported him?"
Saddam appeared to shrug off responsibility when the Halabja attack was listed at Thursday's hearing among charges that could lead to a formal indictment for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"Yes, I heard about that in the media," he said.
Halabja residents worry that Saddam might escape the death sentence, a penalty which many view as insufficient. Iraq's interim government is considering restoring the death penalty, suspended during the U.S.-British occupation.
"I don't think Saddam will be executed, but people from Halabja want him chopped up into pieces," said Ibrahim Hawramani, manager of the Halabja monument center established in 2003 to commemorate victims of the gas attack.
The center contains an exhibition of harrowing photographs taken in the immediate aftermath, showing streets littered with twisted corpses, mostly women and children.
'WEST SHARES RESPONSIBILITY'
According to Hawramani, more than 200 foreign companies have been identified as suppliers of materials for Saddam's chemical weapons. They and everyone else who facilitated the crimes of the regime should be prosecuted, he said.
"America brought Saddam -- they provided him with money, supported him against Iran (in the 1980-88 war) and then used his Baath party as a weapon...they have no excuse," he said.
Survivors of the Halabja attack have provided testimony from over 7,000 witnesses which they hope will help convict Saddam.
The testimonies were collected by the Anti-Chemical Weapons Society which supports victims' families and documents evidence.
"We are worried that Saddam won't be given the death penalty," said Aras Akram, a member of the society who lost his parents and 10 other close relatives in the attack.
Akram said many survivors still suffered from blindness and breathing problems and that there were high rates of colon cancer and infertility among Halabja's male population.
"We're trying to draw attention to these problems but until now no specialized doctors are working in the area," he said.
On the streets of Halabja, Saddam's court appearance brought jubilation at his humiliation, but concern that he would not receive the punishment residents believe he deserves.
"We are very afraid that he won't face the right justice," said Qadir Ahmed, who also works at the monument center. "But when we see him broken it gives us great satisfaction. He should be executed as a common criminal."
Ahmed helped bury 1,500 people in a communal grave after the attack, which killed his father, three sisters and two nephews. Ten years later his mother died of gas-induced nerve disease.
Despite losing a brother last year to illness caused by the chemical bombing, 40-year-old carpenter Batyal Hazar expressed rare support for the trial process.
"To see Saddam in front of a judge is the wish of all Kurdish people," he said.
"Of course Kurds are unhappy Saddam should get a trial. But the United States is democratic and looks at guilty people and then gives them a chance. We should be like that.""
This is all so terrible.