VARIOUS: Vatican spokesman says Saddam execution 'tragic' and immigrants in Germany have mixed reactions

European reactions to the execution of Saddam Hussein on Saturday (December 30) ranged from remorse at the application of capital punishment to relief at seeing the end of the former Iraqi dictator. "I think the big moment was when he was arrested rather than now but this is the final psychological point following the arrest. One must hope that we're looking forward to a new era in which the Iraqi government will be able to proceed with reconciliation, but I don't think it's easy to be optimistic," former British Ambassador to Iraq, Sir Harold Walker said. From his hometown of Bologna in Italy, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said that his country would always oppose the death penalty, describing it as counter-productive to efforts to stablise Iraq. "I don't want to only express my personal reservations on the death penalty. I also wish to express my concern for a possible increase in tensions in the area. That is happening in the first hours following the execution. I hope that the situation won't get even worse in the future," Prodi said. The Vatican's condemnation of the execution also echoed Prodi's concerns, calling it a 'tragic' event and warning that it risked fomenting a spirit of vendetta and sowing fresh violence in Iraq. "The execution of a capital sentence is always tragic. It is always a moment for sadness even when the person put to death is one who is guilty of great crimes. The position of the Catholic church against the death penalty has been many times repeated. The killing of the guilty is not the way to rebuild justice and reconcile society. There is, rather, the risk that putting the guilty to death might fuel the spirit of vengeance and sow the seeds of new violence. In these dark times for the people of Iraq, one cannot but hope that all those responsible truly do all what is possible so that from this dramatic situation ways might finally open towards reconciliation and peace," Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. The Catholic church teaches that capital punishment today is unjustifiable because only God has the right to end life and modern society has developed ways of protecting itself from further crimes by keeping the guilty apart. "This is not correct. As a Christian, you do not hang people and then say justice has been handed out. Justice does not come from vendetta but from truth. Those who have done wrong must be rehabilitated, not hanged. We are all sinners and by this logic we would all need to be hanged," Father Lamberto, a priest from the Ivory Coast said. "It is just adding a wrong to another wrong," sister Giovanna, a nun, said. The Vatican, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said Saddam's execution would likely worsen the situation on the ground. In Germany, the execution sparked mixed reactions from foreign migrants. The German capital, Berlin, -- with the largest Turkish population outside Turkey -- has a large number of muslim residents, many of whom are living in exile, such as Kurdish refugees from Iraq. "I think it is a shame for him. He did a lot of things wrong, but still, for it to happen so quickly, within a year, and to kill a president overnight. I don't think that is right," said Turkish immigrant Ügur Ciftci. "He deserved it and so he should be made to pay for it," another Berlin resident said. A subdued Saddam Hussein was led shackled into a hall early on Saturday in Baghdad, a noose was placed around his neck and a guard pulled a lever that swiftly ended his life and a chapter of Iraq's history. Sami al-Askari, a prominent Shi'ite politician close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, witnessed the event and told Reuters the process of Saddam's execution lasted about 25 minutes but once he was dropped through a trap door his death was very quick. State-funded television channel Iraqiya showed the final moments of Saddam's life but stopped short of broadcasting the actual hanging or his corpse. Askari said Saddam, executed for his role in the killing of 148 men and boys from the Shi'ite town of Dujail after a failed attempt on his life in 1982, was executed at 6:10 am (0310 GMT) according to his watch at an Iraqi army base in Kadhimiya.

ITN Source | January 1, 2007

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