"Michael Johnathan McDonald" <abookoflife@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dd3256f0.0406141538.df7cebd@posting.google.com...
tonyz2001@aol.com (TonyZ2001) wrote in message
news:<20040614113714.00400.00001056@mb-m14.aol.com>...
Red Cross ultimatum to US on Saddam
"ultimatum" is usually used in threats of war.
No it isn't. Buy a dictionary for *****'s sake. Or if the welfare won't
stretch to one, book mark this:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ultimatum
this is another lefty journalist, OK'd by lefty Head honchos, who want
to use 'Mao fear tactics phrases' in catchy titles of print?
Cliff, it's going on about Mao again. Change the record you *****-swilling
maniac.
"Red Cross ultimatum to US"?
Humm.. What kinda army does the Red Cross have?
??
I say observe international law.
So do the Red Cross.
I heard that Saddam can be let go ( From the radio) - free in less
than a month.
You heard wrong - as a POW he is to be repatriated now "hostilities are
over" (yeah right) or charged for war crimes - almost certailny he will face
teh latter. You see, it's generally regarded as being bad form, against
international law, or "Maoist" if you prefer to hold people indefinitely
without charge, and that's what the Red Cross are pointing out.
''"40 other members of the so-called "pack of cards", "''
Will Saddam start a new country or hook up with NK's Ill for the
nuking of the west?
That's about as likely as you constructing a coherent post.
Release him, charge him or break international law, Bush told
Jonathan Steele in Baghdad
Monday June 14, 2004
The Guardian
Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or
charged if
the US and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law,
the
International Committee of the Red Cross said last night.
Nada Doumani, a spokeswoman for the ICRC, told the Guardian: "The United
States
defines Saddam Hussein as a prisoner of war. At the end of an occupation
PoWs
have to be released provided they have no penal charges against them."
Her comments came as the international body, the only independent group
with
access to detainees in US custody, becomes increasingly concerned over
the
legal limbo in which thousands of people are being held in the run-up to
the
transfer of power at the end of the month.
The occupation officially ends on June 30 and US forces will be in Iraq
at the
invitation of its sovereign government.
"There are all these people kept in a legal vacuum. No one should be
left not
knowing their legal status. Their judicial rights must be assured," Ms
Doumani
said.
Saddam and other senior officials of the old regime are the only Iraqi
detainees to have been given PoW status. Hundreds of other Iraqis have
been
seized since the war often, according to critics, on flimsy suspicion
and held
for long periods without charge, usually without their families knowing
for
weeks where they are.
The ICRC visited the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in early June and found
3,291
detainees, including three women and 22 boys under 18. This was less
than half
the 6,527 it found in March.
President George Bush has promised to close the prison where US guards
indulged
in pornographic abuse of prisoners and several groups of releases have
taken
place since. But many prisoners have been transferred to other prisons.
The ICRC is angry that it has not been given exact figures for releases
or the
whereabouts of those who are moved from Abu Ghraib and it is hoping the
end of
the occupation will put pressure on the authorities to clean up their
act. "If
we consider the occupation ends on June 30, that would mean it's the end
of the
international armed conflict. This is the legal situation.
"When the conflict ends the prisoners of war should be released
according to
the Geneva conventions," Ms Doumani said.
She accepted that US and other foreign forces would remain in Iraq.
Whether that meant an occupation continued would be "determined by the
situation on the ground". The presence of foreign forces ought to be
governed
by a legal agreement with the host government.
The ICRC has made at least two visits to the former Iraqi president who
is
believed to be in a special prison at Baghdad airport.
Around 40 other members of the so-called "pack of cards", Washington's
list of
high-level members of the former regime, are also there, most in
solitary
confinement.
Interrogation has been sporadic and none has been charged or allowed
visits by
their lawyers. A few have had family visits.
They include scientists who were never members of the Ba'ath party, like
Dr
Amer al Saadi, who was the Iraqi government's liaison with the United
Nations'
weapons inspectors.
Advertiser links
We Are The Future - Child Charities
Raising funds to benefit boys and girls in war-torn cities....
wearethefuture.com
Children International - Sponsor a Child
For only $18 a month, you can make a difference in the life...
children.org
Please Help Feed These Children
For the past 8 years I have ministered to the children and...
godslivingwordsministries.org
Family members claim they are being deliberately held without trial so
as to
be punished even in the absence of evidence of wrongdoing.
US lawyers have been helping Iraqis prepare charges against Saddam but
officials say they do not expect a trial until next year at the
earliest. The
US and the Iraqi authorities hope other defendants will first testify
against
him.
But none has been willing to do so. Whether it is out of loyalty or fear
of
retribution by Saddam's sympathisers is not clear.
Once charged the former president will be entitled to judicial
guarantees
including access to a lawyer and the right to prepare a defence.
The US has made clear it will continue to detain some Iraqis after the
transfer
of sovereignty as part of its security operations.
.
