VARIOUS: Reactions to Saddam's execution from Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India

Iraqis in Australia celebrated the execution of Saddam Hussein on Saturday (December 30) by dancing and chanting on the streets in Sydney. Some members of the Iraqi community in Sydney were overjoyed when they heard the news that Hussein had been hanged in Iraq. Holding up Iraqi flags, they chanted anti-Saddam slogans and celebrated his death. "I think he's an animal, I think he's a pig", said young Iraqi Hussein al-Saleh, who lost some of his cousins killed under the Hussein regime. Australia, a close ally of the United States, was one of the first nations to commit troops to the war in Iraq and maintains about 1,400 troops in and around Iraq to provide security and help train Iraq's new defence forces. In Kabul, president Karzai declined to comment on Saddam's execution, saying it was a matter for the government of Iraq and would have no impact on Afghanistan. However, he too suggested the timing of the execution on the Eid holiday was wrong. In Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai also made a statement on the execution of the former Iraqi president after the Eid al-Adha prayers . "The execution of the former Iraqi president is the work of Iraq's government. We wish the Iraqi people prosperity, happiness and success. The execution has no impact on Afghanistan. Eid is the day of happiness, the day of goodness and the day of reconciliation not the day of revenge," Karzai told reporters. However, a top commander of Afghanistan's Taliban said on Saturday that the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would galvanize Muslim opposition to the United States. Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a former Taliban defence minister and top insurgent commander, also said Saddam's execution on the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival -- marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca -- was a provocation. In Pakistan, the government called the execution of Saddam Hussain "a sad event" which "is another poignant reminder of the violence that continues to grip Iraq." In a press release, the Foreign Office hoped that this event would not "further exacerbate the security situation" in the war-ravaged country. On the streets of Pakistan's capital, deserted because of the Eid-ul-Adha holidays, reaction to the hanging was mixed. "It is very good. He has been punished for the cruelties he had inflicted on the public," said Mohammad Tufail, owner of a hosiery store. But others were angered by the execution taking place on Eid-ul-Adha, one of the holiest dates of the Muslim year. An execution at the start of Eid is highly symbolic. The feast marks the sacrifice the prophet Abraham was prepared to make when God ordered him to kill his son and many Shi'ites could regard Saddam's death as a gift from God. Such symbolism could further anger Sunnis, resentful of new Shi'ite power. U.S. President George W. Bush, who branded Saddam a tyrant and a threat to global security even though alleged nuclear and other weapons were not found after the 2003 invasion, hailed the execution as a "milestone" on Iraq's path to democracy. But some Pakistanis said Bush was a bigger tyrant than Saddam. "If we go by calculations, the number he (Saddam) killed - let's say he killed 150 - tens of thousands have been killed by the Americans, by Bush. If this (Saddam execution) was correct, then it should happen to Bush also," said service station owner, Mohammad Arif angrily. In India, thousands of Indians, mostly Muslims, took to the streets in sporadic protests across the country against the execution of Saddam Hussein, accusing U.S. President George W. Bush of murdering him. The protests came as New Delhi, which had friendly relations with Saddam's Iraq, said it was disappointed he was executed but hoped this would not hurt the process of reconciliation and restoration of peace in that country. "India had advised against the carrying out this sentence and expressed a hope that the life of the former Iraqi President would be spared, so that the process of normalization and reconciliation in Iraq could be taken forward. Therefore, we term this development as unfortunate and disappointing, but we still do hope that all efforts will be made by the government of Iraq, by the political parties to ensure that the ethnic blood letting and the violence which is taking place, is brought under control and the people of Iraq live in an atmosphere of peace and democracy," said Anand Sharma, India's junior foreign minister. Many believe the execution might prove counterproductive and breed more violence in Iraq. In New Delhi, workers of the National Panthers Party held a protest to denounce the execution. The protesters shouted anti-American slogans and burned straw effigies of Bush. Similar protests were also held in restive Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar. "The capital punishment that was awarded to Saddam, we completely condemn it, this was a terrorist activity by the United States," said Afaq Khan, senior leader of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party. In the country's financial hub Mumbai, workers of regional Samajwadi Party along with activists of various Muslim organizations, echoed similar sentiments. They said the execution defied justice and was ill-timed. India is home to an estimated 140 million Muslims, the world's third-largest Islamic population after those of Indonesia and neighbouring Pakistan.

ITN Source | January 1, 2007

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