Thursday, November 09, 2006
Human Rights Group: unabated assassinations of Baathists
Security, Politics
Assassinating former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party is going on unabated particularly in southern Iraq, according to an independent group monitoring human rights in Iraq. “The number of Baathists killed since the start of 2006 has reached 1,556 people and none of the cases has been investigated,” the group, Freedom Monitoring Commission, said in a statement faxed to Azzaman. It said the killings took place in southern Iraq, and particularly in the cities of Nasiriya, Diwaniya, Amara, Basra, Samawa, Kut, Hilla, Karbala, Najafa and Hindiya.
There were more than one million full-fledged members of the Baath party and millions of supporters. Displaying public loyalty and registering as party members or supporters was the only way to get a government job in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Follwoing the U.S. invasion, Baathists and their families in many places in Iraq were evicted from their homes and many were kidnapped or killed.
There were more than one million full-fledged members of the Baath party and millions of supporters. Displaying public loyalty and registering as party members or supporters was the only way to get a government job in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Follwoing the U.S. invasion, Baathists and their families in many places in Iraq were evicted from their homes and many were kidnapped or killed.
The process called De-Baathification has been fiercely implemented by the successive post-invasion governments. And the militias belonging to political factions some of them part of the current ruling coalition have taken the law into their hands through their death squads which pick the Baathists as their main targets. Many analysts blame the current chaos, violence and lawlessness in Iraq to U.S. decisions to scrap the whole structure of government that functioned under Saddam Hussein and which solely relied on Baathists.
The head of the so-called Supreme National council for De-Baathification, Ali al-Lamy, said early in the week that he was working on a plan to reinstate former Baathists in their positions. Many of the former Baath Party officials, particularly those who served in the armed forces and security organs, are from the Sunni minority, which now bears the brunt of resistance to U.S. occupation troops.
The head of the so-called Supreme National council for De-Baathification, Ali al-Lamy, said early in the week that he was working on a plan to reinstate former Baathists in their positions. Many of the former Baath Party officials, particularly those who served in the armed forces and security organs, are from the Sunni minority, which now bears the brunt of resistance to U.S. occupation troops.
