No more white suit, no more children carrying flowers and dancing at his feet, no more TV coverage showing him inspecting all the gifts he received on his birthday and no more new songs lauding his praises. Here are a couple of reports on what happened in different parts of Iraq on April 28, 2007. What does this day mean to you?
On Saddam's birthday, a divided Iraq remembers by Hassan Al-Obeidi and Abdulamir Hanun Sat Apr 28, 2:27 PM ET
AWJA, Iraq (AFP) - In another reminder of the gulf that divides their warring communities, Iraqis remembered Saddam Hussein's era on Saturday at two starkly different ceremonies.
One honoured the memory of the former dictator, another laid more of his victims to rest. In the small northern village of Awja, where Saddam was buried after his execution in December, a crowd of 200 Sunni Iraqis, mostly young children, laid a wreath on his tomb in honour of his birthday.
Meanwhile, in central Iraq's Shiite holy city of Karbala, about 40 officials and clerics gathered to rebury the remains of 61 victims of Saddam's brutal crackdown of the Shiite rebellion that followed the 1991. Tens of thousands of Shiites -- rebels and innocent civilians alike -- were slaughtered by Saddam's forces and dumped in mass graves across
Since the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, officials have been gradually exhuming the victims and laying them to rest in massive cemeteries. Despite the passions that memories of Iraq's former era once aroused, both ceremonies were sparsely attended, indicating perhaps that the daily bloodshed in the country now overshadows the contested historical legacy.
In Awja, the children laid candles at the grave but left them unlit to signify what one organiser called "the darkness of the occupation".
"The children of Salaheddin want to celebrate the birthday of the martyr Saddam Hussein near his tomb. They regard him as their father," said Fatin Abdul Qadir, the head of a children's organisation in the province. Many of the children, however, could not have been more than three or four when Saddam was ousted in the invasion.
In Karbala, Shiites gathered to commemorate their own "martyrs".
"Today we are burying the remains of 61 martyrs that the former regime buried in a mass grave in the Razaza area in 1991 during the popular uprising," said Emad Muhammed Hussein, one of the organizers of the event.
"We obtained the remains from the Imam Ali base near Nasiriyah after US forces examined them and used them as evidence against the former regime."
Most Iraqis rejoiced when Saddam was overthrown in the second US-led invasion of their country, but many members of his tribe and some nostalgic members of his ruling Baath Party continue to honour his name. The bloody chaos that has descended on Iraq in the wake of the invasion and the controversial way in which Saddam was executed by the new Shiite-led regime have also hardened support for him in some Sunni communities.
Under local pressure, Ali al-Nida, the chief of the Baijat tribe to which Saddam belonged, attended the Awja ceremony after initially urging his people to keep the celebrations small or even to postpone them.
"I told them that the security situation is not suitable. They must postpone these celebrations until the circumstances improve and the political reality in Iraq is changed," Nida told AFP. "Only then can they celebrate the occasion which Iraqis used to respect before the occupation began on April 9, 2003," he said, referring to the date when US marines pulled down a tall bronze statue of Saddam in Baghdad. Supporters Celebrate Saddam's Birthday
OUJA, Iraq Hundreds of people brought unlit candles and flowers to Saddam Hussein's tomb on Saturday to mark what would have been his 70th birthday.
Children wore white, along with badges bearing Saddam's portrait, and sang songs and poems as cake was served in Saddam's burial place, an ornate building with a marble floor that he had built for religious events in this Tigris River village.
The supporters said they were mourning the state of their country along with the ousted leader, who was hanged on Dec. 30 for crimes against humanity.
"We came with candles but won't light them because the candle of Iraq, President Saddam Hussein, has gone as a martyr," said Fatin Abdul Qadir, the director of a children's charity in nearby Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad. "We will light them when Iraq is liberated again." Banners decorated buildings in the center of Tikrit, with one reading, "We congratulate the Iraqi resistance and the Iraqi people on the occasion of the leader's birthday."
Saddam's tomb was covered with an Iraqi flag and flowers.
"The martyr has gone but he is still immortal in our hearts," Abdul Qadir said. "Baghdad flourished during his days, not like now."
Many Sunni Arabs, a minority that enjoyed dominance in Iraq under Saddam's regime, oppose U.S.-led efforts in Iraq and have spearheaded a fierce insurgency leading to a cycle of retaliatory sectarian violence that has devastated the country.
Saddam, who was captured by American soldiers near Ouja in December 2003, was hanged following his conviction in the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites.
His stature has increased since his execution _ when he answered insults and taunts with disdain _ overshadowing the memories in much of the Arab world of the massacres and other atrocities committed by his regime.
For years, April 28 was marked by official celebration and enforced adulation of the authoritarian leader, who was "unanimously" endorsed by voters over the years in unopposed "elections."
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
< Message edited by azinorum -- 4/29/2007 10:36:53 AM >
perhaps off topic, perhaps not... i have noticed when i really clean a house, or reorganize, i end up with a HUGE mess and THEN have to get things in order... sigh....... xxxxxxxxxxoooooo me
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Faith, Hope and Love, the Greatest of these is LOVE!!!
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell
The 28th of April is a sad reminder that Iraq is in disaray and occupied by the Americans and worse the gov't is Iranian. I had many family members taken prisoners of war in the 1980's and I will not forget how the were all beat up and some died, shia and sunni. It is also sad because like it or not we had a president a real man a real leader as the president of Iraq, now we are left with a over-weight Talabani and an Iranian Prime minister one is worse than the other. We have militas that run the streets, they are Iranian backed and Iraq is occupied by IRAN the Persians, the real emenys of Arabs, Persians have caused more problems to Arab than anyone. All these Persians is the govt now and trying to make Iraqs history dissappear saying we are not a Arab country, Kurds i love you and respect you but your orgin is not from Northern Iraq either, but 28th of April is a sad day and I wish Saddam our president was still here..............
Finally an Iraqi with an opinion. I don't agree that Saddoomi was a great man, far from it. The war with Iran could have been avoided, so could the invasion of Kuwait and subsequent events that followed (11years of sanctions, Gulf war, desert storm). Just because things are much worse now that shouldn't mean we forgive Saddam for all his sins. Iraqis always deserved better than the Tikritis who turned Iraq into their personal country club. Saddam was not a real man, nor was he anything resembling a great president. A great President is there to serve his people not the other way around.
Having said that, if all I have to compare is an Iraq with Saddam versus the Iraq we see today then I would choose the former. Thats how sad and desperate we have become.
Hello Azinorum, i respect your opinon but i have lived in Baghdad my entire life and many mistakes where made by the President and his gov't but you must also realize that outside forces put Iraq is a corner, sure there were other ways to handle it. I read a report the the US and British sent over billions of dollars to destroy Saddam reputation. Remember King Hussein in Jordan, does anyone ever recall who he killed 20,000 palentines refugees? No, and you never will he it. How about the criminal regime of Kuwait, I FOR ONE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW THEY STOLE IRAQI OIL WHILE IRAQ WAS PROTECTING THEM AND THE GULF COUNTRIES FROM THE IRANIAN CRIMINALS. Then the Kuwaiti gov't allow the US to invade Iraq from there soil, and they helped destroy IRAQ more than any other country. Saddam let Arabs come into Iraq with no VISA's, education was free. On the other hand Kuwait has Palestinians living there for years even born there no citizenship ever granted, but the Persian comes to Kuwait does not even speak Arabi and they are given a Kuwaiti citizenship. Iraq will one day come out of this mess, I have no doubt because despite the horific scenes and killings there is Allah. Saddam had great ideas visions for Iraq many never began a reality. Do you blame Saddam for being a tough guy now that Iraq is in a mess? What does Iraq need today? Federlism? No. Walls around Baghdad? No. It needs a tough strong minded leader, that was Saddam. I realize many of us have many pains during the Saddam era but history will show he was a great leader.
Salam Baghdadi. "Hello Azinorum, i respect your opinon but i have lived in Baghdad my entire life and many mistakes where made by the President and his gov't but you must also realize that outside forces put Iraq is a corner, sure there were other ways to handle it. I read a report the US and British sent over billions of dollars to destroy Saddam reputation."
Just as they pumped millions to bring him into power in the first place!
"Remember King Hussein in Jordan, does anyone ever recall who he killed 20,000 palentines refugees? No, and you never will he it."
Yes but look at how a poor country with zero resources has developed and look at us.
"How about the criminal regime of Kuwait, I FOR ONE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW THEY STOLE IRAQI OIL WHILE IRAQ WAS PROTECTING THEM AND THE GULF COUNTRIES FROM THE IRANIAN CRIMINALS."
You’re forgetting to mention that Saddam invaded Kuwait and looted it dry for 8 months. I hate the Kuwaiti Amirs too but look at what his stupid decision lead to. He was even given the opportunity to withdraw but he decided he would risk Iraq and live out his delusions of grandeur.
"Then the Kuwaiti gov't allow the US to invade Iraq from there soil, and they helped destroy IRAQ more than any other country."
As I have said in many posts on this forum, what else did we expect from them, Arab loyalty? Come on, you don’t believe that old wives tale do you?
"Saddam let Arabs come into Iraq with no VISA's, education was free. On the other hand Kuwait has Palestinians living there for years even born there no citizenship ever granted."
Yes Saddam was very careful to show Arabs how he cared for their hopeless causes. Whilst he allowed Arabs to come and go as first class citizens in Iraq, his own countrymen were struggling in poverty and corruption. Since I moved to Jordan I haven’t met a Palestinian who didn’t moan and **** about how expensive we Iraqis have made Jordan. Forget Arab support and Arab Nationalism. It’s just a smokescreen.
"Iraq will one day come out of this mess, I have no doubt because despite the horific scenes and killings there is Allah." Even though many of us disagree about Iraqi issues this is what we all hope and pray for.
"Saddam had great ideas visions for Iraq many never began a reality. Do you blame Saddam for being a tough guy now that Iraq is in a mess? What does Iraq need today? Federlism? No. Walls around Baghdad? No. It needs a tough strong minded leader, that was Saddam."
It needs a strong minded, WISE AND FAIR leader and that wasn’t Saddam!
"I realize many of us have many pains during the Saddam era but history will show he was a great leader."
I've lived under the Tikriti Presidency all my life. By the time I was 10 years old Saddam was in power and he ruled absolutely. Now just look at his achievements - Iran War, invasion of Kuwait, Gulf war, UN sanctions, Desert Storm and now this mehzela. These are the major incidents of his Presidency. But history will also recall that since Saddam became President none of Baghdad’s streets have proper paving, nor do we have safe electrical wiring, no safe drinking water, etc. As you live in Baghdad I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. Baghdad was a beautiful city but now it’s ugly. All these things didn’t happen after Saddam was shoved off his kursi. These things happened to Iraq and Iraqis because he chose this path for us. Now look at how Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi, UAE, Oman, Bahrain and so on have developed in the last 30 years and compare it too where we Iraqis stand today. Is this the result of a good Presidency? No, this is the result of a President whose goals had nothing to do with the modernization of Iraq, he used our young men and this once great country to live out his own megalomaniacal delusions. We all deserved so much better than this. Generations have grown up knowing nothing but wars and sanctions whilst neighboring countries have experienced normal lives with equal opportunities. No matter how much I hate American foriegn policy, George Bush, Islamic Militias, Insurgents, Al Qaida, Iranian Mullas and all the other filth that is ruining Iraq, I can never say Saddam was a good President. When it comes down to it I blame him for all this mess.
Stay safe in Baghdad. regards Azinorum
< Message edited by azinorum -- 5/3/2007 5:37:05 PM >
dificult subject i think. this day a happy & sad day 4 iraqis. i am not iraqi but i hope u acept my opinion. this day happy because iraq now has no dictator. this day is sad because iraq now have no leader who control it. until iraq find the strong leader to take responsibility & act quick then iraq will be in 100 pieces. i hope iraq find this man soon!
The one who fits this description best is Ayad Allawi. Thats my opinion and I would welcome some input if other members whould like to offer an alternative candidate.
I hate this day with all my heart. I used to feel sick watching him parade himself like a peacock surrounded by inocent children. It was always a big fake show but by the 90s it made him look cheap like a dirty old man. This day is a very bad day in history for us.
Salam to you all. I was never old enough to remember but when I returned to Baghdad I did some home work on this issue. There were so many VCD's for sale of Saddam, Oday, Qusay and all their family mobsters and I used to watch these every night during curfew. Many of these were homemade movies and others were clips of their extravagances. There was one group of clips of Saddam's birthday and its just as azinorum described it only creepier. He seems to leer at the little girls dancing around him and his bodyguards treat these kids as if they were potential assassins. I have to admit I found these videos quite funny in a morbid sort of way.
There were so many VCD's for sale of Saddam, Oday, Qusay and all their family mobsters and I used to watch these every night during curfew. Many of these were homemade movies and others were clips of their extravagances.
Yes, I used to have a large collection of these myself. Did you see the one with Ali Hassan Al Majid entertaining his kawlia mistress? Priceless.
Those Kawlias could tell us a few stories. If I was a reporter I would do some research on this topic. It would make an interesting read!
You're not kidding. Before Uday was shot in that failed assassination attempt which rendered him impotent he used to get pissed as a fart and his favorite pastime - other than raping underage girls - was getting down with his Kawlia friends. Try to get hold of some of the Kawlia "old timers" from Uday's time and you'll be onto a winner.
You're not kidding. Before Uday was shot in that failed assassination attempt which rendered him impotent he used to get pissed as a fart and his favorite pastime - other than raping underage girls - was getting down with his Kawlia friends.
You mean he stopped after he was shot? Thats not what I heard.
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