Updated: 10:11 PM EST
Investigators Say Iraqi Mass Graves May Hold 300,000
By Andrew Hammond, Reuters
BAGHDAD (Nov. 8) - Iraqi and U.S. rights investigators said on Saturday they
suspected Iraq had up to 260 mass graves containing the bodies of at least
300,000 people murdered by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
They told a conference that the task of identifying bodies and preparing
evidence for tribunals could take years and millions of dollars, but the long
process would be worth it to heal the wounds of three decades of brutal Baath
Party rule.
"We have reports of 260 mass graves and we have confirmed approximately 40 of
them," said Sandra Hodgkinson, director of the Coalition Provisional
Authority's (CPA) mass grave action plan'.
"We believe, based on what Iraqis have reported to us, that there are 300,000
dead and that's the lower end of the estimates.
"In Bosnia it's now eight or nine years since similar atrocities and only 8,000
bodies out of 30,000 have been uncovered. Here in Iraq it's 300,000," said
Hodgkinson, a human rights lawyer brought in by the CPA after U.S.-led forces
toppled Saddam in April. More sites could still be found.
The three-day conference aims to prepare Iraqi rights workers and officials of
the Iraqi human rights ministry for the process of disinterring graves and
convincing families that they should wait rather than rush to dig up bodies
themselves.
Hodgkinson said only 11 of the 260 sites had been disturbed since the graves
were first discovered in May, when distraught families frantically dug around
for the remains of loved ones.
Iraqi officials, who will gradually take over control of the investigations,
also called for patience.
"Iraq doesn't have the capability at present to do the work of investigation.
The main task for the moment is how to protect the sites which have been
opened," Human Rights Minister Abdel-Basset Turki told the meeting.
KURDS VICTIMIZED
The U.S. military has footed the bill for satellite imaging to identify sites,
but Turki said more money would be needed.
Iraq's Governing Council asked an international donor conference in Madrid last
month for $100 million to be spent on equipment and manpower over the next five
years, but Turki said little has been forthcoming yet.
A team of forensic experts will arrive in Iraq in January to begin work on up
to 20 sites around the country where evidence will be collected for future
trials of regime figures. Work to identify bodies has begun at the other
200-odd sites.
Investigators have identified six major crime periods: 1983 attacks on Kurds, a
1988 campaign against Kurds, chemical weapons attacks on Kurds from 1986-88,
the 1991 crushing of a southern Shi'ite revolt, the 1991 crushing of Kurdish
insurrection, and crimes against all sectors of the population during the
entire period of Baath rule.
Rafid al-Husseiny, a doctor who has led disinterring work at the Mahaweel site
near Hilla south of Baghdad, is leading efforts to train Iraqis in the
gravedigging process.
"Since May we have investigated a mass grave there of 3,115 people. We
identified 2,115 bodies, which were reburied by their families," he said,
stressing reconciliation among Iraqis.
"Iraqi citizens must look with both eyes, one looking to the future and one
looking toward the past."
11/08/03 07:58 ET
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| User: "WarpedFrets" |
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| Title: Re: More Mass Graves Found In Iraq |
09 Nov 2003 07:34:09 PM |
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"By Andrew Hammond, Reuters"
Hey ***** munch, since when is Reuters considered American Propaganda?
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: More Mass Graves Found In Iraq |
09 Nov 2003 07:19:59 AM |
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On 09 Nov 2003 12:17:00 GMT, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
Updated: 10:11 PM EST
Investigators Say Iraqi Mass Graves May Hold 300,000
By Andrew Hammond, Reuters
This was already posted dipshit. Learn to read instead of repeating
the US propoganda *****.
"life is like a mushroom, they feed you ***** and keep you in the dark"
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