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The International Campaign to Indict Iraqi War Criminals
INDICT: The International Campaign to Indict Iraqi War Criminals
INDICT, the international campaign to indict Iraqi war criminals,
was formally launched on 15 January 1997 in London to coincide
with the sixth anniversary of the start of the Gulf War. The
Campaign has already attracted world-wide attention because of its
appeal and its implications for the salvation of Iraq and for peace
and stability in the Gulf region.
In addition to the support of the leadership, across party lines and
official positions, in Britain and other countries, and the wide press
coverage, the enthusiasm generated by the Campaign was expressed
by more than 8,000 signatures gathered in a few weeks inside Iraq
and by the steady flow of letters of support which INDICT is
receiving.
The launch itself was attended by more than 200 people in the
Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons.
Speakers included:
Ann Clwyd MP (Labour), who chaired the event.
Dr Ahmad Chalabi, President of the Executive Council of the Iraqi
National Congress.
Lord Avebury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights
Group.
Seyyed Dr. Mohammed Bahr ul-Oloom, a respected Iraqi religious
leader.
Edward Mortimer, Foreign Affairs Editor of the Financial Times.
Salvatore Papalordo, of the Fondation France-Libert?s in Paris,
who read out a message from its president, Madame Danielle
Mitterrand.
Dr. Fuad Masoum, former Prime Minister of Kurdish Regional
Government.
Dr Ahmad al-Samdan, Dean of the Law School at Kuwait
University.
Michael Wood, film-maker.
Rend Rahim, Executive Director of the Iraqi Foundation in
Washington, DC.
INDICT, a truly international campaign
Among the letters of support INDICT has received are those from:
the Prime Minister, John Major; the Leader of the Opposition,
Tony Blair; Liberal Democrats leader, Paddy Ashdown; Lady
Margaret Thatcher; European Commissioner Emma Bonino; the
Kuwaiti Ambassador, HE Khaled Al-Duwaisan; Lord Jeffrey
Archer; former Prime Minister Lord Callaghan; Nobel Prize-winner
Jose Ramos-Horta; the MPs Emma Nicholson, Dafyd Wigley, and
Margaret Ewing, among others; the actress Julie Christie.
A Campaign to set up a tribunal for bringing the Iraqi leadership to
trial cannot be an easy one. It is clear to many that the Gulf war
should not have ended without the inclusion in the cease-fire
resolution (Resolution 687- 3 April, 1991) of a clause calling for
the depositions and trial of the Iraqi leadership. A clause about the
Iraqi leadership's responsibility was in fact included in the draft of
Resolution 687, but it was dropped for reasons of realpolitik,
ensuring the absence of a clear distinction between rulers and ruled
in Iraq. This distinction, six years after the Gulf war, is needed
more than ever.
Efforts of various governments and continued pressure from the
Iraqi opposition have secured the development of this legal
distinction. This is expressed mostly in Resolution 688 requesting
the cessation of the repression perpetrated by the Iraqi regime
against its own population, and in Resolutions 706/712/986, which
ensure that Iraqi oil is sold for the procurement of food and
medicine to be distributed inside Iraq by the United Nations
without interference from the regime. These resolutions are not
sufficient, however, and the process of delegitimisation of the
regime can only happen, in fact, through its fall. In law it can only
happen through the indictment of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi
leadership for their continued and relentless repression inside Iraq;
for the clear and present danger they still constitute- after two
major aggressions in 1980 and in 1990- to their neighbours and the
world community; and for the development and use of weapons of
mass destruction.
INDICT has been encouraged by the movement to establish an
International Criminal Court which will ensure that the likes of Pol
Pot and Saddam Hussein do not go unpunished in the future. But
Pol Pot is gone, and his regime is an ugly thing of the past in
Cambodia, even if the terrible wounds his brutality opened will
remain for generations to come. In Iraq, however, terror remains a
feature of daily life. Absolute and relentless repression is the
hallmark of the survival of the regime, and has now extended to
Saddam Hussein's nearest kin. There is not a single country in the
world where the repression is anywhere similar.
Our Campaign's main premise is that the current regime in Iraq is
unique for the level of crime perpetrated against its own
population, and against neighbouring peoples. This is best
expressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iraq,
Max van der Stoel, who, after more than five years of monitoring,
and ten comprehensive reports, has confirmed that the regime of
Saddam Hussein is unique for the scale of repression in the post
world war era. In a prophetic article published in Cairo in 1991, the
Egyptian Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz expressed a similar
concern, that "there will be no morality left in the world if Saddam
Hussein is not brought to justice."
INDICT is conscious of the many imperfections which accompany
the unfolding international criminal justice system. Indicting
Saddam Hussein is not an easy task, but we believe that our
Campaign provides the most significant missing link between the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the
projected International Criminal Court, which is still a few years
ahead.
There are problems, which are inherent to the difficult emergence
of a more responsible world. But the need is clear, and the
enthusiasm for INDICT, as well as the seriousness with which the
Iraqi regime has responded to the launch of INDICT, are testimony
that we are on the right track, if not an easy one.
We need the determined help of governments, organisations and
individuals. Without a process of indictment, there will be neither
peace nor stability in the Middle East. Without the success of
INDICT, all those who have been suffering from Saddam's
brutality, the Iraqis, the Kuwaitis, the veterans of the Gulf War,
whose lives and those of their families have been devastated by
their exposure to the war, remain without moral compensation.
Without INDICT, there is no justice for the millions who have
suffered, and continue to suffer from the Iraqi dictator's evil
existence. With INDICT, the victims of Saddam Hussein have, at
last, a voice.
INDICT's Objective and Mission Statement
INDICT, a group of individuals and organisations across the world,
was created in 1996 for the purpose of bringing Saddam Hussein
and other leading figures in the current regime in Iraq before an
international tribunal to face charges of war crimes, crimes against
humanity, crimes against peace and the crime of genocide.
Since 1979, the Baathist regime in Iraq has committed repeated acts
of brutality against the people of Iraq and the citizens of other
countries. The charges against Saddam and his associates would
include the invasions of Iran and Kuwait, the occupation and
destruction of Kuwait, the use of chemical weapons against the
Kurdish citizens of Iraq and against Iran, the genocidal Anfal
Campaign against the Iraqi Kurds, the continued and systematic
repression of Iraqi citizens- including repeated massacres of tens of
thousands of Iraqi civilians, the systematic destruction of the land
inhabited by the Marsh Arabs, politically-motivated assassinations
inside and outside Iraq, the abduction and continued detention of
Kuwaiti citizens, and the continued violation of UN Security
Council resolutions. These well-documented acts violate
international law as well as the most basic norms of behaviour
recognised and accepted by the civilised world. Evidence to be
presented to the Tribunal exists in the form of eye-witness
accounts, survivors' testimonies, and several tons of captured Iraqi
documents which are in the custody of the US Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
By indicting those individuals who are responsible for mass crime,
the Tribunal will emphasise the distinction, in law, between the
Iraqi people and the present leadership. It will further deter Saddam
Hussein from aggression, cripple any diplomatic moves of those
indicted, undermine the remainder of his legitimacy inside Iraq and
in the region, and help secure, in due course, the recovery of Iraq
under a new leadership and its reintegration into the international
community.
INDICT will endeavour to persuade the members of the world
community, and particularly the members of the UN Security
Council, to set up an international tribunal to try the members of
the Baathist regime in Iraq for the above-mentioned charges.
A tribunal for Iraq will also reinforce the work of the current
tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the efforts to
bring to justice members of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, on the
way to the International Criminal Court, as supported by the United
Nations General Assembly. The Tribunal will constitute a further
landmark for the emerging rule of law in the Middle East and in the
world at large.
INDICT's Organisation and Main Activities
INDICT is an international association to be formed by three core
groups - the Board of Advisors, the Executive Committee, and the
Survivors' Committee. During 1997, the Executive Committee will
establish the formal structure of INDICT.
The Board of Advisors consists of individuals or organisations of
international staturewho support the goals of INDICT and are
willing to help it through their contacts with the media and
governments. It will be announced after the launch of INDICT in
Washington on 16 April 1997.
The Executive Committee has the task of managing the efforts of
INDICT, organising its contacts with the media, governments and
non-governmental organisations, fund-raising, and consolidating
and organising all documentation and evidence with the goal of
facilitating the work of the proposed Tribunal. The members of the
Executive Committee are individuals, both Iraqi and non-Iraqi, who
are committed to the goals of INDICT and willing to actively
participate in its work.
The Survivors' Committee will represent victims of Saddam's
aggression, both Iraqi and non-Iraqi, and will have the task of co-
ordinating with the Executive Committee the gathering of evidence
and the furnishing of witnesses.
INDICT has also started to compile the available reports from the
UN, governments, human rights organisations and other NGO's,
foundations, and individuals, and to publish them for the evidence
needed by the tribunal. This is being carried out in co-ordination
with a leading international law publisher. An Internet site is being
constructed.
Provisional List of Serious Violations of International Law by the
Iraqi Regime
I- War Crimes
Initiation of war in the region, and politically motivated
assassinations, by order of magnitude:
(a) Invasion, occupation and destruction of Kuwait (August 1990-
February 1991);
(b) Initiation of war against, and invasion, of Iran on 22 September
1980 (Responsibility of Iraqi ruler established on 9 December 1991
by Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, acting upon
Resolution 598, 20 July 1987: "The Security Council ...6. Requests
the Secretary-General to explore, in consultation with Iran and Iraq,
the question of entrusting an impartial body with inquiring into
responsibility for the conflict and to report to the Security Council
as soon as possible.");
© Aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
occupation of the town of Khafji in January 1991;
(d) Attempt to kill Israeli ambassador in London, Shlomo Argov, to
provide pretext to Israeli government for the invasion of Lebanon, 3
June 1982;
(e) Alleged involvement in the assassination of Lebanese President
Ren? Mu'awwad, 22 November 1989;
(f) Involvement and judicial indictment of Iraqi embassy personnel
in Beirut for assassination of the First Counsellor of the Jordanian
embassy (judgement of the Criminal Court issued 19 October
1994);
(g) alleged involvement in killing of Palestinian leader Salah
Khalaf (Abu Ayad), 14 January 1991.
II. Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide
Serial and mass killings of non-combatants and civilians, inter
alia::
(a) Destruction of 5,000 Kurdish Iraqi villages, mass deportation
and killings of 180,000 Kurdish civilians, culminating in the Anfal
operation against the Kurds and use of prohibited chemical
weapons in 1987-88,
(b) Mass suppression of civilians before and during the Iraqi
intifada (March 1991). Continued repression of civilians outside
the safe haven, including the killing of 42 Baghdad merchants in
1992;
© Arrest, deportation and killing, on or after 2 August 1990, of
hundreds of Kuwaiti nationals still unaccounted for despite
repeated calls by the UNSC for their release since Resolution 687
("30. Decides that, in furtherance of its commitment to facilitate the
repatriation of all Kuwaiti and third country nationals, Iraq shall
extend all necessary co-operation to the International Committee of
the Red Cross, providing lists of such persons, facilitating the
access of the International Committee of the Red Cross to all such
persons wherever located or detained and facilitating the search by
the International Committee of the Red Cross for those Kuwaiti
and third country nationals still unaccounted for");
(d) Use of poison gas against army defectors taking refuge in the
marshes of southern Iraq, 1988-89; use of chemical weapons
against Iranian soldiers;
(e) Arrest and deportation of hundreds of civilians from northern
Iraq, August-September 1996;
(f) Assassination and assassination attempts of Iraqi National
Congress members in Salahuddin, northern Iraq, October 1995 (30
persons killed) and in Qusthapa, northern Iraq, August 1996 (96
persons killed); extra-judicial killing of several Iraqi Turkmen in
Arbil, September 1996;
(g) wanton killing of upward of 1,000 Egyptian workers (1987-88);
(h) wanton use of Scud missiles during the two Gulf wars.
III. Violation of Various UN Resolutions since 1991, specifically:
- Section 32 of Res. 687. (3 April 1991) ("...Requires Iraq to inform
the Security Council that it will not commit or support any act of
international terrorism or allow any organisation directed towards
commission of such acts to operate within its territory and to
condemn unequivocally and renounce all acts, methods and
practices of terrorism");
- Resolution 688 (5 April 1991). ("1. Condemns the repression of
the Iraqi civilian population in many parts of Iraq, including most
recently in Kurdish populated areas, the consequences of which
threaten international peace and security in the region; 2. Demands
that Iraq, as a contribution to removing the threat to international
peace and security in the region, immediately end this
repression...3. Insists that Iraq allow immediate access by
international humanitarian organisations to all those in need of
assistance in all parts of Iraq and to make available all necessary
facilities for their operations");
- Continued non-implementation of Reports and Recommendations
of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iraq by the present
Iraqi government, starting with the report released on 18 February
1992, in which the Rapporteur "specifically recommends the
sending to Iraq of a team of human rights monitors who would
remain in Iraq until the human rights situation has drastically
improved." (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Iraq,
Prepared ... in Accordance with Commission Resolution 1991/74,
UN Doc. E/CN/ 1992/31, "Conclusions").
- Continued violation of disarmament conditions under resolution
687 (section C) and the Iraqi government's sustained obstruction of
the UN Special Commission.
IV. Other serious violations of international law including hostage
taking, degrading of environment, production of bacteriological and
chemical weapons... (as documented by UNSC resolutions 660 ff.)
Justice and double standards
by Seyyed Dr. Mohammed Bahr ul-Oloom
Perhaps the most worrying aspect about Saddam Hussein avoiding
indictment in spite of the scale of his atrocities and crimes, is the
fact that international and superpower interests and calculations
have overshadowed a basic principle of justice. It is alarming to
hear calls, particularly after the food-for-oil resolution (Res.986),
for Saddam's containment and the normalisation of relations with
his regime, in contrast to the need to overthrow him. It is puzzling
to see Iraqis being relentlessly punished with international
sanctions whilst the dictator remains above the hands of justice. It
is upsetting to see Resolution 688, which directly benefits the Iraqi
people, being continuously ignored under the pretext that it was not
passed under chapter VII of the Charter, at a time when all the other
resolutions are being implemented.
When the Iraqi people rebelled against Saddam Hussain after the
brutal invasion of Kuwait, he was allowed to use his air power and
destroy an uprising which had spread through 14 out of 17
provinces in Iraq, and which had brought severe unrest to the heart
of Baghdad. Thus was lost the opportunity to bring him to justice.
In April 1993, when the US administration received our delegation
of the Iraqi opposition, the secretary of state, Mr. Warren
Christopher, promised to actively work towards bringing Saddam to
justice. This never saw the light of day, and the US is satisfied with
continued sanctions and the dismantling of weapons of mass
destruction under international supervision, whilst that most
important undertaking remains unfulfilled.
Iraqis have unanimously and repeatedly called for Saddam and his
aides to be brought to justice. When Resolution 808 was passed for
the former Yugoslavia and the trials began, it gave a new impetus to
Iraqis everywhere to renew their demand for indicting Saddam in a
court of law similar to the courts of Nuremberg and Tokyo. The
Iraqi opposition sent several detailed plans to the United Nations to
indict the Iraqi ruler and his men - only to find that all these efforts
were falling on deaf ears. The former UN Secretary-General never
found the time to look at our reports and proposals, and never
bothered to bring them to the formal attention of Security Council
members.
It is not too late. Considering Saddam's unsurpassed record of
crimes since the war, we believe that a move to indict him will
prove to be a triumph for humanity over evil. It will put in question
the legitimacy of his government and its representation in the
United Nations. Questions remain, which only the tribunal will
provide answers for: .How can Saddam Hussain continue to
oppress the Iraqi people, six years after Resolution 688 ? Why does
he still hold more than 700 Kuwaiti nationals prisoners? Why does
he continue threatening neighbouring countries? And why does he
continue to undermine regional and international peace and
security ?
One need merely listen to Saddam's recent on Iraqi Army Day (6
January 1997) to see that his hostility and aggressiveness have not
been tamed. The occupation of Arbil since the summer has given
the regime a new lease of life. If no punitive measures are taken
against the dictator, and steps adopted to alleviate the suffering of
our people. he will continue to be a scourge on Iraq, and a menace
to world peace and security. Only by indicting Saddam and his
aides, on the way to ridding Iraq and the region from this menace,
will a first step have been seriously taken..
We are encouraged by the support given by the government of
Kuwait, whose people have shared with the Iraqis the heavy mark of
Saddam's tyranny, and we hope that this initiative will be a global
one, starting with wide support by other Arab countries and being
crowned by the relevant UN Security Council resolution.
The campaign to indict Saddam and his aides as war criminals will
also encourage global efforts to punish mass crime and increase the
protection of humanity from wars and destruction at the hands of
dictators whose totalitarian ambitions always cost thousands of
lives. Saddam's indictment for crimes against humanity will also
give the Iraqi people the opportunity to start enjoying their natural
rights and freedoms . The international community is responsible
for this sacred cause.
Seyyed Dr Mohammed Bahr al-Oloom is a religious leader from the
Iraqi town of Najaf. He lost more than twenty members of his
family, who were executed or "disappeared".
Excerpts from letters of support received by INDICT
"I wish you well in your campaign and I feel that anything which
draws attention to the horrors perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and
his evil regime can only be for the good."
Lady Margaret Thatcher
"I fully share your political objective of bringing those responsible,
particularly Saddam Hussein, to justice for the atrocities committed
by the Baghdad regime."
Prime Minister John Major
"The peace and security the Iraqi people deserve will be hard to
achieve if those committing atrocities against them are going
unpunished. I take this opportunity of wishing you well with the
meeting and success in your campaign."
Tony Blair
Leader of the Opposition
"The State of Kuwait wholeheartedly supports INDICT and calls
upon the international community to support demands to establish
the fate of the Kuwaiti POWs and missing, to stop human rights
violations in Iraq, and to bring these war criminals to justice."
His Excellency Khaled Al-Duwaisan
Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UK
"The Anfal operation against the Kurdish population of Iraq from
1984 to 1989 was indistinguishable from genocide. I support this
campaign to indict those responsible and bring them to justice."
Danielle Mitterrand
"I want to express my full support for the launch of INDICT. I am
aware of the tremendous violations of human rights in Iraq and am
convinced that the reign of terror built up by Saddam Hussein will
end only with a joint effort by the international community."
Emma Bonino
European Commissioner for Huamniatrain Affairs
"Many of the British victims of the human shield period - political
hostages of Saddam Hussein - still bear untreated scars caused by
being held. A clear demonstration by a tribunal of the effects of the
regime is an aim we welcome."
Stephen Brookes MBE
Gulf Support Group
"INDICT's all-party effort to bring Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi
war criminals to justice, before an international tribunal is a
necessary and overdue follow-up to the admirable political
consensus achieved in combating Saddam's aggression against
Kuwait."
Emma Nicholson MP
"It is essential that we seize this moment to ensure that the Saddam
Hussein regime is brought to justice before the world is shocked by
even worse catastrophes."
Julie Christie
Actress
A selection of press coverage of INDICT
Major, Blair back campaign to indict Saddam
Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following
news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in
part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
LONDON (Reuter) - British Prime Minister John Major and
opposition leader Tony Blair threw their weight Wednesday behind
a new campaign to arraign Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on
charges of war crimes and genocide.
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also sent a message of
support to INDICT, a group of individuals and organizations across
the world that launched its campaign at a packed news conference
at the House of Commons.
The campaign, which coincides with the sixth anniversary of the
Gulf War in which a U.S.-led international force expelled invading
Iraqi troops from Kuwait, wants to bring Saddam and other leading
Iraqis before an international war crimes tribunal.
The court would be similar to the ones already established for
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
INDICT accuses Saddam of breaking a wide range of international
laws. It says his crimes against humanity include exterminating
Iraqi citizens and committing genocide in 1987-88 against Iraqi
Kurds and marsh Arabs in southern Iraq.
"Saddam Hussein should not continue to escape prosecution for his
war crimes and the crime of genocide. It is essential he should not
cheat justice and the launch of the campaign will help ensure that
justice is done," Ann Clwyd, a Labor member of parliament who
chaired the news conference, said.
She read a message of support from Major, who said he fully
shared the political objective of bringing Saddam to justice.
"The international community is right to condemn such actions and
we need to ensure that their actions remain in the public eye,"
Major wrote.
Blair, whose party is favorite to win Britain's forthcoming election,
said a Labor government would support action by an international
criminal court to investigate atrocities in Iraq.
"The peace and security the Iraqi people deserve will be hard to
achieve if those committing atrocities against them are going
unpunished," Blair said in his message to INDICT.
----
Iraq blasts Britain on bid to help indict Saddam
Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following
news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in
part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
BAGHDAD, Jan 16 (Reuter) - Iraq blasted British leaders on
Thursday for backing INDICT, an organisation seeking to bring
Iraqi leaders before an international war crimes tribunal.
The official al-Iraq newspaper, in a fiery frontpage editorial,
accused INDICT of spreading "lies, falsehoods and fabricated
reports to defame Iraq and its standing."
British Prime Minister John Major and opposition leader Tony
Blair on Wednesday threw their weight behind a campaign by
INDICT to arraign Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on charges of
war crimes and genocide.
Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher has sent a message of
support to INDICT, a group of individuals and organisations
around the world that launched its campaign at a news conference
at the House of Commons.
"The campaign is of dubious ends and with dirty targets," the
newspaper said.
The campaign, which coincides with Friday's sixth anniversary of
the Gulf War in which a U.S.-led force expelled Iraqi invasion
troops from Kuwait, wants to bring Saddam and other key Iraqis
before an international war crimes tribunal.
INDICT accuses Iraqi leaders of breaking a wide range of
international laws. It says their crimes against humanity include
exterminating Iraqi citizens and committing genocide in 1987-88
against Iraqi Kurds and Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq.
State-run newspapers on Thursday splashed their pages with
articles praising the 'mother of battles' -- Iraq's name for the 1991
Gulf War.
The ruling Baath party newspaper accused the Western allies of
annihilating Iraqi citizens and launching a war of genocide through
U.N. trade sanctions.
Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait drew U.N. sanctions on Iraq.
The U.N. has agreed to ease the ban on oil sales to allow Baghdad
to raise funds for vital humanitarian needs.
Al-Iraq said the INDICT campaign was masterminded by
"reactionary circles in Britain who have allied themselves with
Zionism and its establishments there."
The paper said accusations by INDICT "have no basis of truth and
have no existence but in shallow minds filled with rancour and
hatred."
----
Copyright 1997 Associated Press
January 15, 1997; Wednesday
All-party group presses for Iraqi war crimes tribunal
DATELINE: LONDON
A group supported by all British political parties and Iraqi exile
groups on Wednesday launched a campaign to get President
Saddam Hussein and top members of his regime indicted for war
crimes and genocide.
The group, INDICT, was launched on the sixth anniversary of the
Gulf War and plans to open branches in Washington and other
European capitals.
INDICT aims to get an internationally recognized Iraqi war crimes
tribunal set up, and to have tons of captured Iraqi documents
classified into material for bringing prosecutions against Saddam
and his top aides.
''Like the secret service of Pol Pot (ex-Cambodian dictator),
Saddam Hussein's secret police kept meticulous records,'' Ann
Clwyd, a British Labor Party legislator told a news conference at
the House of Commons.
Ms. Clwyd, a longtime supporter of Iraqi dissidents, acknowledged
the difficulty of getting Saddam before a tribunal.
INDICT believes that setting up an Iraqi tribunal would be a first
step: focusing international attention on atrocities by Saddam,
including against the Kurds; keeping him boxed up in Iraq; and
deterring renewed foreign investment in Iraq, particularly by
France.
Ahmad Chalabi, a leader of the Iraqi National Congress, an
umbrella body for Iraq's divided opposition groups, said that in
1993 the then-U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher had
supported the idea of a U.N. commission to examine Saddam's
crimes.
''We feel this should be pursued with vigor now by the United
States,'' said Chalabi.
Margaret Thatcher, who as Conservative Party prime minister was
President George Bush's main foreign ally in the Gulf War after
Saddam invaded Kuwait, sent a message of support.
Her successor, Prime Minister John Major, also endorsed INDICT.
''I hope in due course the regime in Baghdad will fall and those
responsible for such appalling crimes will be brought to justice,''
Major said in a message.
U.S.-led forces captured several tons of Iraqi documents at the end
of the Gulf War which are evidence of state-ordered torture and
other atrocities, Ms. Clwyd said.
The group argues that an Iraqi tribunal would also strengthen the
status of two tribunals set up to try war criminals from the former
Yugoslavia and from Rwanda.
The foreign editor of London's Financial Times, Edward Mortimer,
a specialist on Middle East affairs, said there were signs of
Western opposition slackening toward the long-surviving Saddam.
''I sense we are settling back into a situation where Saddam just
becomes another of those tiresome regimes that one had to do
business with,'' said Mortimer.
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