THE HANGING OF SADDAM HUSSEIN : LESSON FOR WAR CRIMINALS
The execution of Saddam Hussein has provoked heated debates around the world.In some places, people are jubilating while in others , protests were sparked about the legality of the trial and America’s role in the demise of the former Iraqi leader. Even in the United States , opinions are varied and the NEW YORK POST reported in its Sunday December 31, 2006 edition that ..”A tiny fringe of dissenters protested the hanging yesterday ”
The paper said that the protesters, “Marching in a circle in front of Times Square military recruiting station , about a dozen hardline lefties held up signs against the war. ”
SADDAM HUSSEIN : His executioners taunted him
However much some people detest what they perceive as the role America may have played in the Saddam Hussein saga, it is a fact that there are also some hardline muslims who thought that the ex-Iraqi leader had a case to answer for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These muslims argue that however much Saddam Hussein’s execution may have been pioneered by forces that themselves lack some moral authority to punish others for war crimes, there was no justification for the Iraqi leader’s action against the Kurds.
According to the evidence provided in court, Saddam Hussein allegedly had over 5,000 Iraqi kurds exterminated during his war with Iran in March 1982, through the use of poison gas in the town of Halabja.
His eventual execution must send a message to the world that war crimes and crimes against humanity cannot be tolerated. War crimes are the most heinous and despicable crimes .Why combatants leave enemy forces and expatiate their devilry againsy innocent people beats reasoning human minds.
The execution of Saddam Hussein should warn combatants all over the world that one way or the other they are going to be held accountable if they commit war crimes and crimes against humanity It may not be in the same manner that Saddam has paid for his alleged crimes. But war criminals will definitely face the music in a world being reduced to a global village , where what happens in one country may no longer be the business of that country alone.
Sierra Leone has had her own share of war crimes and crimes against humanity and we know that war crimes are horrendous offences that threaten the very human civilization men seek to protect .
We think that the International Criminal Court ( ICC) should become more proactive in identifying war criminals around the world and bringing them to justice , even if it entails trials in absentia. Countries of the world that care for human rights should have the ICC invested with the legal power and authority to identify and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity , and to bring alleged perpetuators to justice , however complicated the process used . This is the only way we can protect our world and civilization from those who think nothing about wicked and merciless acts that harm innocent men, women and children.
