 |
||||||||
|
Topic : After the execution of Saddam Hussein
Participants : Jiyoung Ryu, Michael Cahn, Jihyun Lee, Kyungmi Kim, Mina Kim, Wonjin
Lime, Jieun Choi, Soohyun Lee
Presenter: Kyongme Kim
Coordinator: Soohyun Lee
contents:
* Summary
▷ When : The death sentence was carried out at 6am local time (3am GMT), Saturday December 30, 2006, a half-day before the start of the Muslim feast of Id al-Adha
▷ Where : The Hanging of Saddam Hussein was carried out at a former military intelligence headquarters in a Shia district of Baghdad
▷ Who : The Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was at the age of 69, was executed by an Iraqi court(actually, by the Iraqi Government)
▷ Why : For crimes against humanity
by reports of a car bombing with as many as 30 dead in the Shia city of Kufa
by the conviction of the deaths of 148 men and boys from the Shia town of Dujail, where members of an opposition group had made a botched attempt to assassinate him in 1982.
▷ How : By the hanging
▷ In Iraq : Shias welcome execution while Sunnis fear the consequences
The reaction around the World
▷ Support or Respect
America - George Bush's comment : An important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.
Iraqi Government - Saddam's execution was a "strong lesson" to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.
Britain - Hussein has now been held to account. The British government does not support the use of the death penalty, in Iraq or anywhere else, but we respect their decision as that of a sovereign nation.
Israel - Israel, an old enemy of Mr. Hussein’s, leaders reacted calmly but with satisfaction at the execution.
▷ Criticism
The European Union - The European Union has a very consistent stand on opposing the death penalty and it should not have been applied in this case either — even though there is no doubt about Saddam Hussein’s guilt over serious violations against human rights.
The Vatican - The Vatican went so far as to call the execution “tragic”
Muslim World - Many saw the timing as symbolic, though they interpreted it in different ways. One said "This is the best Eid gift for humanity". Others saw it as a mockery of their religion.
Russia - Expressing regret that Iraqi officials disregarded international appeals not to carry it out.
India - It voiced regret. "We hope that this unfortunate event will not affect the process of reconciliation, restoration of peace and normalcy in Iraq.”
The radical Islamic Hamas movement - Strongly condemned the execution as a “political assassination” that “violates all international laws,”
Talking Point
1. Whether the Death Penalty was right or not as a punishment?
2. Whether the process of the trial was fair or not?
3. Whether the timing of the execution was appropriate or not?
4. Whether the U.S.-backed Iraqi governmen has the legitimacy of the Execution from the bottom?
Plus
"A capital punishment, the killing of the guilty party is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society. On the contrary, there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new violence." - the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman
"This is a warning to all the leaders in the third world," he told Arab News. "If America so chooses, this will be your fate too." - Pakistani pilgrim Manzar Muhammad Baloch
“The fact that his trial took place while Iraq is still under occupation by foreign forces may mean that his execution, on the blessed day of Id al-Adha, will be regarded as an insensitive and provocative act by the U.S.-backed Iraqi government and that far from contributing to a so-called healing process, it may serve to further intensify the sectarian divisions in Iraq.” - Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain
"A half-day before the start of the Muslim feast of Id al-Adha, was insulting. The hanging took place on the day of the Id and this is a message to the Arab street — the Americans have launched threats to all the Arabs." - Fawzi Barhum, a spokesman of the radical Islamic Hamas movement
The execution also revived the ideological divide between supporters and opponents of the 2003 invasion. “Saddam Hussein’s death does not vindicate in any way the ill-conceived and disastrous decision to invade Iraq. His execution does not make an illegal war legal any more than it will put an end to the violence and destruction.” - Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats in Britain, which opposed the war
Participants : Jiyoung Ryu, Michael Cahn, Jihyun Lee, Kyungmi Kim, Mina Kim, Wonjin
Lime, Jieun Choi, Soohyun Lee
Presenter: Kyongme Kim
Coordinator: Soohyun Lee
contents:
* Summary
▷ When : The death sentence was carried out at 6am local time (3am GMT), Saturday December 30, 2006, a half-day before the start of the Muslim feast of Id al-Adha
▷ Where : The Hanging of Saddam Hussein was carried out at a former military intelligence headquarters in a Shia district of Baghdad
▷ Who : The Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was at the age of 69, was executed by an Iraqi court(actually, by the Iraqi Government)
▷ Why : For crimes against humanity
by reports of a car bombing with as many as 30 dead in the Shia city of Kufa
by the conviction of the deaths of 148 men and boys from the Shia town of Dujail, where members of an opposition group had made a botched attempt to assassinate him in 1982.
▷ How : By the hanging
▷ In Iraq : Shias welcome execution while Sunnis fear the consequences
The reaction around the World
▷ Support or Respect
America - George Bush's comment : An important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.
Iraqi Government - Saddam's execution was a "strong lesson" to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.
Britain - Hussein has now been held to account. The British government does not support the use of the death penalty, in Iraq or anywhere else, but we respect their decision as that of a sovereign nation.
Israel - Israel, an old enemy of Mr. Hussein’s, leaders reacted calmly but with satisfaction at the execution.
▷ Criticism
The European Union - The European Union has a very consistent stand on opposing the death penalty and it should not have been applied in this case either — even though there is no doubt about Saddam Hussein’s guilt over serious violations against human rights.
The Vatican - The Vatican went so far as to call the execution “tragic”
Muslim World - Many saw the timing as symbolic, though they interpreted it in different ways. One said "This is the best Eid gift for humanity". Others saw it as a mockery of their religion.
Russia - Expressing regret that Iraqi officials disregarded international appeals not to carry it out.
India - It voiced regret. "We hope that this unfortunate event will not affect the process of reconciliation, restoration of peace and normalcy in Iraq.”
The radical Islamic Hamas movement - Strongly condemned the execution as a “political assassination” that “violates all international laws,”
Talking Point
1. Whether the Death Penalty was right or not as a punishment?
2. Whether the process of the trial was fair or not?
3. Whether the timing of the execution was appropriate or not?
4. Whether the U.S.-backed Iraqi governmen has the legitimacy of the Execution from the bottom?
Plus
"A capital punishment, the killing of the guilty party is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society. On the contrary, there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new violence." - the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman
"This is a warning to all the leaders in the third world," he told Arab News. "If America so chooses, this will be your fate too." - Pakistani pilgrim Manzar Muhammad Baloch
“The fact that his trial took place while Iraq is still under occupation by foreign forces may mean that his execution, on the blessed day of Id al-Adha, will be regarded as an insensitive and provocative act by the U.S.-backed Iraqi government and that far from contributing to a so-called healing process, it may serve to further intensify the sectarian divisions in Iraq.” - Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain
"A half-day before the start of the Muslim feast of Id al-Adha, was insulting. The hanging took place on the day of the Id and this is a message to the Arab street — the Americans have launched threats to all the Arabs." - Fawzi Barhum, a spokesman of the radical Islamic Hamas movement
The execution also revived the ideological divide between supporters and opponents of the 2003 invasion. “Saddam Hussein’s death does not vindicate in any way the ill-conceived and disastrous decision to invade Iraq. His execution does not make an illegal war legal any more than it will put an end to the violence and destruction.” - Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats in Britain, which opposed the war
