|
Globe and Mail (Toronto--Canada's leading
newspaper)
The Abuses
Committed by Iraq's Insurgents
Monday, August
1, 2005
Mention
"human-rights abuses" and "war on terror" in one breath and most people will
immediately think of Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib. The detention of terrorist
suspects at the U.S. base in Cuba and the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by
U.S. soldiers at a prison near Baghdad have attracted worldwide publicity, and
understandably so. Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib have done enormous damage to
the reputation of the United States and the fight against
terrorism.
But, serious though they are, they are not the worst human-rights violations being perpetrated in the world today; not even close. As Amnesty International points out in a new report, terrorists and insurgents in Iraq are themselves abusing rights on a grand scale. Entitled "In Cold Blood," the document calmly and carefully tots up the horrors inflicted in Iraq by those who oppose the U.S-led effort to rebuild and stabilize the country. Those horrors range from beheading and suicide bombing to kidnapping and torture. Amnesty denounces this "continuing pattern of war crimes and crimes against humanity." As the organization puts it, "those who order or commit such atrocities place themselves totally beyond the pale of acceptable behaviour. There is no honour [or] heroism in blowing up people going to pray or murdering a terrified hostage. Those carrying out such acts are criminals, nothing less, whose actions undermine any claim they may have to be pursuing a legitimate cause." That may seem obvious from this side of the fence. But in some quarters of the Muslim world, and even among some thinkers in the West, there are suggestions that the "resistance" in Iraq must fight the unpopular occupying force and its local collaborators by whatever means necessary. The Association of Muslim Scholars, an established Iraqi group, considers the kidnapping of collaborators legitimate. Outside Iraq, a variety of Muslim clerics have tried to justify the bloody attacks carried out by insurgents in Iraq. But even if their cause were good -- even if they were not instead opposing a legitimate, internationally sanctioned attempt to rebuild Iraq and foster democracy there -- it should go without saying that nothing justifies or excuses the insurgents' reign of terror. They attacked the headquarters of the Red Cross and the United Nations. They kidnapped and killed a dedicated aid worker, Margaret Hassan. They have attacked funeral processions and mosques filled with worshippers. They have attacked hospitals and crowded markets. They have attacked women and girls. On Feb. 9 of this year, they shot dead a 32-year-old journalist and his three-year-old son. On March 2, they shot dead a judge and his son as they left their Baghdad home. On April 27, they shot and killed a female member of parliament in eastern Baghdad. The insurgents make little distinction between combatants and civilians, often setting off bombs in crowded public places and showing no scruples about killing children. Perhaps it should go without saying, too, that these acts are unlawful, but Amnesty insists that the insurgents should have no free pass. International humanitarian law sets standards for all parties in armed conflict, and insurgents are as bound by those standards as uniformed national armies. It is futile to tell the insurgents that. They are beyond any appeal based on humanity or legality. But Amnesty has donea service by reminding the rest of us of the need to hold these lawless men to account. When the insurgents bomb and kidnap and torture, they are not just committing crimes against the Iraqi public or U.S. forces. These are crimes of war and crimes against humanity. They should concern us all. [Amnesty report at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140092005?open&of=ENG-2MD ] |
