Some war crimes are ok and some are bad.. depends...
Andrew North | 01.04.2003 10:57
The last time Adal al Dowkhi saw his younger brother Salah was on 28 August, 1990, in an Iraqi police station, set up in occupied Kuwait City.
Who are the 'Missing'?
570 Kuwaiti (94%)
35 non-Kuwaiti (6%):
Saudi Arabia - 14
Bahrain - 1
Oman - 1
Egypt - 5
Lebanon - 3
Syria - 4
Iran - 6
India -1
7 women
22 elderly people
125 students
389 civilians (64.4%)
Source: Kuwaiti Government
He did not know why Salah had been arrested, and his efforts to persuade the Iraqi security officials to release him fell on deaf hears. Adal said they simply told him to come back the next day.
But when he did so next morning, Salah had been moved elsewhere. Almost 10 years later, the family still does not know what has happened to him, even whether he is dead or alive.
According to the Kuwaiti Government, Salah is one of 605 people that Iraq is still holding. They have become known as the 'Missing' and their plight has become perhaps the number one political issue in this country.
Hardly a day goes by without them being mentioned in the emirate's newspapers.
A special centre has been built for the 'Missing' and former prisoners of war in Kuwait City. Relatives often gather there to share news and console each other. Inside is a kind of shrine to the 605 people - a display of pictures of all the people believed to be in Iraq, behind locked prison gates.
Iraqi indiference
Baghdad has persistently denied holding any Kuwaiti detainees, despite repeated requests for information from Kuwait.
Hannan al Dowkhi holds a picture of her missing brother Salah
Since 1998, it has boycotted the so-called Tri-partite commission set up to deal with the issue. Chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the body brings together Iraq and the key members of the Gulf War coalition - the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait itself.
But the Iraqi Government objects to the presence of US and British representatives on the commission. It has also accused Kuwait of refusing to furnish details on the fate of 1,150 Iraqis it says have been missing since 1991.
Recently, Baghdad dismissed as a public relations ploy an offer from Kuwait's defence minister for conditional talks on future relations in return for a goodwill release of 10% of the missing people.
Iraq's attitude has infuriated Ibrahim al Shaheen, vice-chairman of Kuwait's National Committee for the Missing and Prisoners of War.
He said the Iraqi regime has refused even to "give us a list of who's alive and who's dead," so that their families will at least know whether they are alive or dead.
Endless hope
'Missing' mosaic of Kuwaiti anguish
In the first few years after the end of the Gulf War, sporadic reports reached some Kuwaiti families that their loved ones might still be alive. But such reports were patchy and unreliable and in the last few years, even the rumours have dried up.
Al Shaheen himself has two nephews among the missing. He said he has often asked himself whether Iraq could really hang on to these people for so long and what it could gain by doing so. He fears the Iraqis may be hanging on to the Kuwaiti detainees as bargaining chips, to be used in future negotiations.
Whatever the case, Hannan al Dowkhi is adamant that she will see her brother again: "Very much I think he is still alive," she said. "We believe in Allah and we think Salah will come home again."
Who are the 'Missing'?
570 Kuwaiti (94%)
35 non-Kuwaiti (6%):
Saudi Arabia - 14
Bahrain - 1
Oman - 1
Egypt - 5
Lebanon - 3
Syria - 4
Iran - 6
India -1
7 women
22 elderly people
125 students
389 civilians (64.4%)
Source: Kuwaiti Government
He did not know why Salah had been arrested, and his efforts to persuade the Iraqi security officials to release him fell on deaf hears. Adal said they simply told him to come back the next day.
But when he did so next morning, Salah had been moved elsewhere. Almost 10 years later, the family still does not know what has happened to him, even whether he is dead or alive.
According to the Kuwaiti Government, Salah is one of 605 people that Iraq is still holding. They have become known as the 'Missing' and their plight has become perhaps the number one political issue in this country.
Hardly a day goes by without them being mentioned in the emirate's newspapers.
A special centre has been built for the 'Missing' and former prisoners of war in Kuwait City. Relatives often gather there to share news and console each other. Inside is a kind of shrine to the 605 people - a display of pictures of all the people believed to be in Iraq, behind locked prison gates.
Iraqi indiference
Baghdad has persistently denied holding any Kuwaiti detainees, despite repeated requests for information from Kuwait.
Hannan al Dowkhi holds a picture of her missing brother Salah
Since 1998, it has boycotted the so-called Tri-partite commission set up to deal with the issue. Chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the body brings together Iraq and the key members of the Gulf War coalition - the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait itself.
But the Iraqi Government objects to the presence of US and British representatives on the commission. It has also accused Kuwait of refusing to furnish details on the fate of 1,150 Iraqis it says have been missing since 1991.
Recently, Baghdad dismissed as a public relations ploy an offer from Kuwait's defence minister for conditional talks on future relations in return for a goodwill release of 10% of the missing people.
Iraq's attitude has infuriated Ibrahim al Shaheen, vice-chairman of Kuwait's National Committee for the Missing and Prisoners of War.
He said the Iraqi regime has refused even to "give us a list of who's alive and who's dead," so that their families will at least know whether they are alive or dead.
Endless hope
'Missing' mosaic of Kuwaiti anguish
In the first few years after the end of the Gulf War, sporadic reports reached some Kuwaiti families that their loved ones might still be alive. But such reports were patchy and unreliable and in the last few years, even the rumours have dried up.
Al Shaheen himself has two nephews among the missing. He said he has often asked himself whether Iraq could really hang on to these people for so long and what it could gain by doing so. He fears the Iraqis may be hanging on to the Kuwaiti detainees as bargaining chips, to be used in future negotiations.
Whatever the case, Hannan al Dowkhi is adamant that she will see her brother again: "Very much I think he is still alive," she said. "We believe in Allah and we think Salah will come home again."
Andrew North
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
are you stupid?
01.04.2003 11:50
I think most people know that. The merits of Saddam's rule in Iraq are among the issues that I think are important to this war. The important issues are:
International security - If state sovereignty is meaningless, many states will feel edgy and at risk of attack at any moment. - The Middle Eastern region is being divided into unequal chunks of those who support the war (the minority, and only those who HAVE to be close to the US) and those that are furious over it (the largest group). - If America thinks it can do as it pleases in the world, as would be proven by their winning this war with no negative comeback, then it will move on to try to control other countries within that region and also without it.
Self-determination - the Iraqi's are not weak people nor are they lacking in intelligence or bravery. They will at some point have rid of Saddam Hussein, and if that is allowed to happen without the interference of USA and UK then the Iraqi people may finally have control over the politics in their country. If the USA and UK continue and win this war, THE IRAQI PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE FREE.
Legality - the war is illegal. Do we really have to debate the value of respecting legal rules? Hell, alright then. The laws being flouted are the result of something approaching democratic process in the West. Nothing exists in international relations to force states to comply with these laws (not if they are rich powerful states, anyway) - that they are respected at all depends on completely voluntary adherance to them. They are a sort of man made miracle. The US and UK are breaking the laws, and proving to those watching that it is possible to break laws without too much trouble, and also that there are no laws protecting the weaker states. This is not a good thing.
Morality - Bush has the delusion that morality is the same all overthe world, in every place, in every time, in every culture - this is practically a direct quote, look for it on the internet, its there somewhere, or if you cant find it post a comment and I will provide a reference. It simply is not like that. Morality is absolutely a product of culture, religion, and history. Even if the war were really being fought for moral reasons (which it is not) it would still be wrong. Western morality should not be forced upon people who mean different things when they speak of freedom and justice and peace, and it should not automatically be considered superior to any other morality that could ever exist. Even in our own cultures morality changes over time. Are we going to try to prevent moral difference and debate for everyone in the world including ourselves? I hope not. - also under morality, this is plainly a war that serves strategic and ultimately economic interests. Bush and Blair are merely USING morality to cover this over and are trying to steal legitimacy from morality to make up for the fact that this war is illegal and wrong. Morality - true morality - can be a wonderful thing (as well as a contraining and oppressive thing) and it should not be clouded by lies and deceit. all morality everywhere is under attack when any moral rule is used for such a purpose.
I am very sorry to hear about people being imprisoned and forcible removed from their homes. It angers and upsets me to know that these things happen. But I will not let that overshadow other issues, because ultimately it is through resolving these other issue that we will help to prevent this sort of terrible thing happening.
yes, you are stupid
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PIGGY argument
01.04.2003 12:22
I believe the Kuwaiti government was setupafter the 1990 by the pigs from the west.
Kuwaiti government is a direct puppet of the piggy west as much as President.Saddam Hussein was (from the late 1960s! through Halabja where the chemicals came from Poton Down in Wiltshire through to the final minutes of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait).
Now President. Saddam Hussein being an *indirect* puppet of the piggy west for few more year, unfortunately is still in the domain of conspiracy theories. So I will stop there and let you PIG who posted such pigshit to think a bit more about it.
That is of course if you are able to think at all!! PIG.
ram
Oink Oink
01.04.2003 13:36
Robin
kuwait and iraq
01.04.2003 14:29
the original post is titled some war crimes are ok, some are bad....that's exactly what US/UK rulers are trying to tell us at the moment
if people are killed/tortured it is not OK, the first thing our government should do is to stop participating in war crimes themselevs, then stop arming and supporting crimes of other countries, a very simple idea and it would dramtically reduce the amount of suffering in the world immediately.
if the US had been following this course in the 80's (same people, rumsfeld, cheney, perle etc) then saddam would probably not be here today and hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador to East Timor would still be alive
hk
to be frank, matey!
01.04.2003 16:11
Warned by Saddam many times to stop the theft of Iraqi oil, Kuwait continued. Iraq then invaded.
Ok, Kuwait is sovereign state and all...blah blah. But it should be honest enough to come forward to say it is a petty little thieving country but it (the nasty ruling sheikh) continues to show what a grovelling little shit it is to the massahs from the West who continue to prop the little camelshit up because it is of use to them (for the moment).
The shiekh is a hell of a brutal torturer and anti-democratic little bugger (who ran away from defending his country during gulf War I) but all these are ok for the West so long as he is a good little doggie to them.
There you go...
Kuwait Incubator Supplies Inc
Western Puppet
01.04.2003 20:37
God Almighty
god almighty, are you joking?
02.04.2003 08:14
Nobody say anything about that bush father invaded Panama a year earlier and many crimes were committed and nobody say anything about that now.
All of sudden, the western puppets uses excuse to condemn Saddam but at the same time they do not the argument to talk about US/UK crimes committed in Panama or what is going on under our eyes.
To say Saddam was bad man and bush was a good man is nonsensical. These individuals committed crimes, but bush is worse because he was supposed to be a democratic man. In fact he was not better than Saddam.
How many missings in Panama, how nany turtured? is it for convience nobody say anything?
Bush and Saddam should be hanged without reservation.
machno