But is the method of execution is in question?
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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Talabani: the Kurd who will seal Saddam's fate |
| 2005-02-24 |
| Profile of Jalal Talabani from the Times. Half snipped, but it's all good. JALAL TALABANI, the former Kurdish guerrilla commander, prisoner and outlaw who seems likely to become Iraq's President, has more reason than most to want Saddam Hussein dead. The enmity between the two men is such that on one occasion, during the brutal struggle between Saddam's forces and the Kurds in northern Iraq, Saddam offered an amnesty to every Kurdish fighter except Mr Talabani. As President, Mr Talabani would have a chance to turn the tables on the fallen dictator. If Saddam is convicted of war crimes, including the slaughter of more than 182,000 Kurds, Mr Talabani would sign his execution warrant. But he has a problem. "I've thought about it and this is one of my big problems," he told The Times in an interview at his base in Qala Chwallan, northern Iraq. "Why? Because as a lawyer I signed an international appeal against executions and now this gentleman will be sentenced to death, and Iraqi people want to sentence him, to kill him. What can I do?" Asked if he can resolve the dilemma, he laughed. "I hope so." With the Kurds securing a strong second place in elections last month, and the victorious Shia having chosen Ibrahim al-Jaafari for the Prime Minister's job on Tuesday, Mr Talabani, 71, is the favourite for the presidency. Yet there would be many ironies in him becoming titular head of a country whose rule he has spent most of his life fighting to escape. [snip] "Ask Kurds: 'Do you want independence?' Of course everyone will say 'yes'," he said. "But is it possible to have independence now? There are two things: wishful thinking and reality. Most Kurds voted for a legislature to be part of a united democratic federative Iraq . . . a federation within the framework of Iraq. [snip] Mr Talabani, nonetheless, has drawn up some tough conditions for accepting the presidency. They include federal status for the Kurdish lands, and the departure of Arabs sent by Saddam to populate the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in place of Kurds. "We are not ready to accept posts without reaching agreement with our partners in the parliament on the main issues like federation, like democracy for Iraq, like the relation between religion and state," he said. "Kirkuk must be normalised and returned to the stature before Saddam Hussein's 'ethnic-cleansing' policy." With the Kurds commanding 75 seats in the 275-member National Assembly and the Shia well short of the two-thirds majority required to enact legislation, Mr Talabani can afford to take a strong line. He is withholding judgment on the nomination for the prime ministership of Mr Jaafari, who has strong Islamic credentials, and said that Kurds will not co-operate with a Shia-led government unless it supports democracy and federalisation. He is emphatic that the Kurds will insist on secular government. "We will never accept any religious government in Iraq. Never," he declared, thumping the table. "This is a red line for us. We will never live inside an Islamic Iraq. We respect Islam. Islam is our religion . . . The Islamic identity of Iraqi people must be respected, but not an Islamic government." [sniiiiip] |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #2 This has to be the sweetest moment in Kurd history - at least since the day they came to be under a foreign boot-heel so many centuries ago. I hope they savor it - and protect it by making certain of every step taken. Overplaying your hand can be as destructive to your aspirations as failing to seize the moment. It's a delicate balance, indeed. Talabani is a tough smart old SOB - so I'll trust he knows what he's doing... but so much, so many events, had to fall just so to reach this moment -- so I fear for them. My very best regards and hopes to the Kurds. May they make the smartest move at each opportunity - increasing their prospects for true freedom, peace, and prosperity. They deserve it. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-02-24 1:58:40 PM |
| #1 Talabani: the Kurd who will seal Saddam’s fate But is the method of execution is in question? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-02-24 12:36:58 PM |