Malaysia's Mahathir slams Saddam's execution as barbaric, sadistic
The Associated Press Monday, January 1, 2007 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
Malaysia's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, on Monday slammed the execution of Saddam Hussein as barbaric, sadistic and a public murder.
"If we support human rights and justice, we must condemn this barbaric lynching of Saddam Hussein," Mahathir, a vocal critic of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said in a statement issued through national news agency Bernama.
He said the "sadistic act" of broadcasting the former Iraqi president's execution to the world was a travesty of justice designed to demonstrate the imperial power of the United States.
The broadcast served as a warning that people must either bow to the dictates of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration or face the consequences of a public lynching, he said.
"There can be no excuse whatsoever for this injustice under any circumstances," said Mahathir, who stepped down as prime minister in 2003.
Mahathir, who is also a member of the International Committee for the Defense of Saddam, said his execution was also an insult to all Muslims as it occurred during an Islamic festival when Muslims devote themselves to prayer and forgiveness.
"It is all too clear that the war criminal Bush has no sensitivities whatsoever for Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca. This barbaric act is a sacrilege," he said.
He said the entire Saddam trial process was a mockery of justice. "Yet, we are told that Iraq was invaded to promote democracy, freedom and justice," he said.
He noted that over 500,000 Iraqi children died during the years of U.N. economic sanctions after the first Gulf War in 1991, and that findings by the medical journal, Lancet, revealed that over 650,000 Iraqis had died since the U.S. invasion. Mahathir blamed the deaths on Bush.
"If President Saddam Hussein is guilty of war crimes," then the world must find Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard "equally guilty," he said, urging the International Criminal Court to "prosecute these war criminals."
Malaysia's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, on Monday slammed the execution of Saddam Hussein as barbaric, sadistic and a public murder.
"If we support human rights and justice, we must condemn this barbaric lynching of Saddam Hussein," Mahathir, a vocal critic of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said in a statement issued through national news agency Bernama.
He said the "sadistic act" of broadcasting the former Iraqi president's execution to the world was a travesty of justice designed to demonstrate the imperial power of the United States.
The broadcast served as a warning that people must either bow to the dictates of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration or face the consequences of a public lynching, he said.
"There can be no excuse whatsoever for this injustice under any circumstances," said Mahathir, who stepped down as prime minister in 2003.
Mahathir, who is also a member of the International Committee for the Defense of Saddam, said his execution was also an insult to all Muslims as it occurred during an Islamic festival when Muslims devote themselves to prayer and forgiveness.
"It is all too clear that the war criminal Bush has no sensitivities whatsoever for Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca. This barbaric act is a sacrilege," he said.
He said the entire Saddam trial process was a mockery of justice. "Yet, we are told that Iraq was invaded to promote democracy, freedom and justice," he said.
He noted that over 500,000 Iraqi children died during the years of U.N. economic sanctions after the first Gulf War in 1991, and that findings by the medical journal, Lancet, revealed that over 650,000 Iraqis had died since the U.S. invasion. Mahathir blamed the deaths on Bush.
"If President Saddam Hussein is guilty of war crimes," then the world must find Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard "equally guilty," he said, urging the International Criminal Court to "prosecute these war criminals."
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