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Iraqi Clans Spurn U.S. Bucks For Abused Prisoners
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Bremer (C) during a press conference with Iraqi clan chieftains and dignitaries
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By
Mazen Ghazi, Namir Al-Hijazi, IOL Correspondents
BAGHDAD,
May 16 (IslamOnline.net) – Iraqi clans have spurned a U.S. proposal
to compensate Iraqi prisoners abused by U.S. soldiers in Abu Gharib
prison, saying the U.S. bucks cannot heal their open wounds.
"No
money could make up for the loss of human dignity," Sheikh
Nasrallah Abdulkarim, the chieftain of Al-Bufahd clans in Rmadi and
the spokesman for the National Council of Iraqi Tribes and Clans, told
IslamOnline.net.
He
said the
U.S.
occupation forces have crossed all red lines by assaulting the honor
and dignity of the Arabs.
"Only
just punishment can quell our outrage. This abhorrent act was
intentional and deliberate," Abdulkarim charged.
Last
week, a number of Iraqi clan chieftains met with
Washington
’s top man in Iraq Paul Bremer, who offered to recompense Iraqi
prisoners for the
U.S.
misconduct at the Abu Gharib prison, the center of an international
scandal.
The
abuse scandal exploded onto the world stage on April 29 after the CBS
news network published several graphic
photos of Iraqi detainees tortured and sexually abused
by
U.S.
soldiers.
Freedom
Abdulkarim
further underlined that resistance is the only way to liberate
Iraq
and restore its sovereignty.
"Freedom
is not a gift from heaven. It should be earned by effort and
resolve," he said.
Abdulkarim
expected that the
U.S.
military would try its best in the days to come to calm things down
for tactical reasons.
"There
is an anger boiling under the surface now," he said.
"The
June 30 deadline for power transfer, for instance, is only used to
water the growing anti-U.S. sentiments."
Abdulkarim
said the Americans have come to realize that they cannot rule
Iraq
all by themselves, "especially after they were let down by their
friends," referring to the U.S.-appointed interim Governing
Council.
"They
are now fully aware that those people [the 25 members of the council]
lost touch with the Iraqi people and not familiar with its mosaic
structure.
"That’s
why they opted now for another strategy, depending heavily on people
from within."
Vengeance
Sheikh
Hikmat Abdul Amir Al-Saadi, the head of the Iraqi tribes council, does
believe that revenge is the one and only choice.
"The
Iraqis are best known for their deeply rooted tribal traditions,
including revenge, which can’t be replaced by the
U.S.
cash," he told IOL.
"Apologies
from
U.S.
leaders are not enough. Those responsible for such abhorrent practices
should be brought to justice."
In
a damning report presented to the
U.S.
administration in February, U.S. Major General Antonio Taguba found
numerous "sadistic,
blatant and wanton criminal abuses" at Abu Gharib
prison.
One
of the shocking pictures showed a hooded prisoner with wires attached
to his hands, standing on a box. CBS said he had been told that if he
fell off, he would be electrocuted.
Another
showed
a soldier holding a leash tied around the neck of a naked Iraqi
detainee grimacing and lying on the floor.
Apologies
by U.S. President George Bush and other top officials have so
far failed to water international outrage.
Iraqi
prisoners who were set free from Abu Gharib prison Friday, May 14,
urged issuing an international arrest warrant for U.S. Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his
trial over their abuse.
An
overwhelming majority of 24,885 people who participated in an
IOL poll released on May 12 called for Rumsfeld's trial over
the torture and abuse scenes.
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