The images of prisoners tortured in Iraq by the forces of the Anglo-American coalition have been beamed round the world, and given rise to a wide-ranging debate in the international press. “United States: the scandal of torture”, is the front-page headline in Le Monde (6/5), over an article in which it is pointed out that “the revelation of violent, degrading acts or torture committed on prisoners by the American forces exposes the Bush administration to one of the most serious crises it has had to face”. The “right to humanity” is discussed inside the same paper by Moncef Kdhir, in whose view “the Anglo-American coalition has now sunk to barbarism, after the inhumane and degrading treatment inflicted on Iraqi prisoners by the forces of occupation”. The “right to humanity”, maintains the author of the article, “is a natural, fundamental and eternal law, that is imposed on everyone and that consists in treating every person, in whatever circumstance, with respect for his dignity. The most effective weapon against the violation of the right to humanity is the incrimination and final condemnation sooner or later of any serious violation of humanitarian international law”. “The torture of Iraqi prisoners shocks the world”, is the headline in the French Catholic daily La Croix (3/5), which contains an article in which Pierre Cochez emphasises that “in the Arab world, the images have confirmed the population and the press in their conviction that the policy of the United States has double standards in terms of human rights”. The “images of torture” are also commented on by the Herald Tribune (6/5), which notes that the Bush administration has reacted “by strongly denying that anything untoward has happened and by persevering in its original plans, while international support for the occupation is progressively diminishing”. “Turning over a fresh leaf. Beginning again from scratch”. That’s the suggestion made to the coalition forces by Marina Corradi (Avvenire, 6/5), according to whom, in response to the images of torture, “democracy can do only one thing: tell the truth, express shame, and send home the guilty”. Comments and editorials in the German press in recent days have also in large part been dedicated to the torture of Iraqi prisoners by the troops of the Western allies. “ It’s not enough to punish the guilty retrospectively. It would be equally important to clarify and eliminate the causes of these excesses assuming they are not purely personal deviations“, notes the Frankfurter Allgemeine (5/5). “ Probably, in the space of a few days, the USA has squandered its authority and hence also its influence more than in all the previous months of the war“, comments Stefan Kornelius in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (6/5). “ The words of Bush would be meaningless if they are not followed by stern action. The disastrous impression aroused in the Arab world, according to which the occupation is only the continuation of the regime of torture of Saddam in the name of democracy, may only be dispelled if the response is not limited to a few warnings or dismissals. Important heads must fall, perhaps even that of Rumsfeld himself“, observes Uwe Schmitt in the Die Welt (6/5). “ Now, the Bush government has even lost control of the image. The damage to the indispensable project of the democratisation of the “Greater Middle East” could not be greater“, writes Rolf Paasch in the Frankfurter Rundschau (6/5). The weekly Der Spiegel also dedicates its cover story to the question: “ In the age of outsourcing, is responsibility also being abdicated by right and by law?“, the magazine asks. “ In the past, terrorist suspects were interrogated by secret services friendly to the Arab nations, less concerned with the safeguard of human rights than American officials. The fact that private firms are now being used with similar effects is nonetheless a brand name of the government of George W. Bush, who has more than anyone promoted the privatisation of state functions: especially the privatisation of war“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1294 N.ro relativo : 34 Data pubblicazione : 08/05/04
