Politics of sympathy: India’s appeal may irk US

DNA Analysis

NEW DELHI: Reacting to an announcement  of upholding the death sentence of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by Iraq’s highest appeals court, India went directly against the Bush administration by officially asking for his life be spared. It is well known that President Bush will welcome the decision of the Court which has ruled that the sentence be carried out within thirty days.

“It is our hope that the sentence will not be carried out and that the former President’s life would be spared. We would also hope that no steps are taken which might obstruct the process of reconciliation and delay the restoration of peace in Iraq,” the foreign office said in a statement issued immediately after the news of the order trickled in. India forsees further rift and civil strife in Iraq if Saddam Hussein is executed.

New Delhi’s quick reaction, significantly at a time when President Bush has batted for India and taken the initial steps to get decades of nuclear restrictions lifted is surprising, more so because Bush has faced harsh criticism from the non-proliferation lobby.

But for the UPA government, faced with crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, the foreign office statement is a concession to domestic political compulsions. The Congress needs to promote its prospects in UP, which has a large Muslim population. Condemning the decision will send out a clear message to the Muslim electorate that the UPA government has its ears to the ground and is responsive to Muslim sentiments.

Incidentally, Saddam Hussain has always been a friend of India and the Congress party had over the years maintained fraternal relations with Saddam’s Baath party. However, New Delhi’s quick response has little to do with the past and is aimed at placating Muslim sentiments. At the same time, the Left allies of UPA, who are traditionally anti-American and has always been against the invasion of Iraq, will also be happy with the government’s statement.

How this statement will play out in the US is not known. It is likely that behind closed doors Manmohan Singh will explain that he has an election to win and in all likelihood the US, familiar with electoral compulsions in a democracy, would understand the governments response. However, if lawmakers and the anti-proliferation lobby make this an issue the bilateral 123 negotiations could suffer.

The Dujail case

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was found guilty last month and sentenced to hang for the killings of 148 Shi’ite men from the town of Dujail.

What happened in Dujail?

In Dujail, a Shi’’ite farming village about 60 km north of Baghdad, local young men tried but failed to assassinate Saddam in 1982 as his motorcade passed through. Prosecutors said Saddam sought revenge, ordering his commanders to hunt down, torture and kill 148 villagers. Women and children were alleged to have been forcibly removed from Dujail, imprisoned and later sent to a desert internment camp where many disappeared. The village’s farmlands, rich date palm and fruit groves were salted and laid waste.

What Saddam said in court

In March, Saddam acknowledged he ordered trials that led to the execution of dozens of Shi’ites in the 1980s but said he acted within the law as Iraq’s president. “I referred them to the Revolutionary Court according to the law. Awad (the judge) was implementing the law, he had a right to convict and acquit,” Saddam said. “It’s the right of the state to confiscate or to compensate. So where is the crime?”       

What the witnesses said

Many of the witnesses testified from behind a curtain and using a computerised voice modifier out of fear for their lives. In a December 2005 hearing, Ahmed Hassan, 38, recounted how his family and he were seized and tortured. He said they were taken to an intelligence building in Baghdad run by Barzan. “I swear by God, I walked by a room and... saw a grinder with blood coming out of it and human hair underneath,” he said. In another hearing, a woman identified only as Witness A broke down in tears as she described how prison guards forced her to strip naked, gave her electric shocks and beat her with cables.