Slaughter of 180,000 people - fiendish - what should be the punishment for this ? Obviously death. Ali Hassan al- Majid (alias Chemical Ali, Saddam’s cousin) and two other officials of Saddam’s regime have been sentenced to death by hanging for their roles in the late 1980s scorched-earth campaign against Iraqi Kurds.
The other two convicts are - Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, a deputy chief of operations for Northern Iraq in 1980s and Sultan Hashim al-Tai, a former defense minister of Saddam.
The trio was convicted for using the deadly mustard gas and nerve agents in Al-Anfal operation to eliminate the Kurdish race from Northern Iraq.
There should be no place in this world for people sans inhumanity. Although, justice delayed is justice denied, yet the wicked will meet the fate that they deserve - sooner or later. It is a day to rejoice for the kin and kith of those who were slaughtered in Al-Anfal campaign.
No doubt, these three deserved capital punishment but will this development cause any upheaval? One would think not, but then Iraqi Kurds are increasingly getting restless and the latest decision of the Iraq’s tribunal might appease them for an injustice caused nearly two decades ago.
Source: Washingtonpost
