IRAQ UNDER THE RULE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

Mark Spiteri Samuel Attard Matthew Vella ReubenVella Baldacchina Julian Grech

Iraq is a country plagued with horrendous fighting amongst its own people. This only increased during Saddams regime.

Iraq is divided because of different political beliefs. Three main groups are the Shia, Sunni and Kurdi.

SUNNI, SHIA AND KURDI

These are the three main types of ethnic groups in Iraq The shia form 60% of the iraqi population The Sunnimake up 20% of the Iraqi population. These two ethnic groups have the same fundamental islamic beliefs but they have political differences Another important ethnic group is the kurdi people inhabit a region known as kurdistan and iraq formed part of this region

http://www.google.com.mt/imgres?q=iraqi+ethnic+groups&um=1&hl=mt&safe=active&sa=G&tbm=isch&tbnid=kPI41NVAOjBGVM:&imgrefurl=http://100treatises.com/2010/03/iraqelection-fun-has-just-begun/&docid=8vL2ZiHEOdAdgM&imgurl=http://100treatises.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/iraq-ethnicmap.gif&w=800&h=762&ei=8ysDT_ekKIbV4QTprNGNCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=298&vpy=146&dur=2636&hovh=219&hovw=230&tx=97&ty=143&sig=101491644975715497744&page=1&tbnh=153 &tbnw=161&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1366&bih=667

SADDAMS RELATION WITH THE IRAQI ETHNIC GROUPS

Saddam formed part of the Sunni ethnic group. He suppressed movements initiated by the kurdish and the shia. All the positions of power were filled with Sunni people. Saddam ordered the killing of 148 shiites in 1982. There was a large scale ethnic cleaning that killed 180,000 kurds between 1983 and 1988.

HOW DID SADDAM GET TO BECOME LEADER IF IRAQ?

1958 saddam joined the socialaist Baath party which later led him to politics. In 1959 aftr the english left, a group of young Baathists opposed the current iraqi primeminister and also atempted to assasinate him.saddam who was atthat current time a hitman, atempted to assasinate the primeminister but failed and was forced to flee the country to syria and cairo where he started studying law. In 1968 saddam after being jailed he escaped prison , the baath part y gained power and Saddam served as acting deputy chairman of the party's ruling Revolutionary Command Council. He began to gather miany government departments under him to make himself indispensible to the leader Bakr. as a leader he was known to be ruthless and thuggish. According to published accounts, Saddam eliminated anyone who opposed him and carried out mass executions of people who could pose a threat to his regime.

SADDAMS LEADERSHIP

In 1979 Bakr was forced to resign by saddam, after which he declared himself as leader of the Iraqis removing the right for the iraqi citizens to vote freely in fair democratic elections .(side notes ) This led to people from other countries calling for his removal from the position of power . Calls also came in from the neighbouring country Iran, whose governement had just altered to anti-baathist . A writing that describe Saddams leadership was : Said Aburish notes-: First ,enemies were neutralised, be they individuals , ethnic or religious groups or political parties. Simultaneously, ambitious social and economic programmes were pursued at breakneck speed. (Wikipedia.com)

SADDAM AND THE MILITARY

saddam set up an organisation called the popular army. This increased his stranglehold on the country (this led to the reduction of human rights. At various instances saddam suppressed the rights of his own citizens and soldiers through his military power: saddam made his army suffer in the invasion of kuwait.They were tired and hungry and had various days without food . His army carried out various actions through which they reduced education and public health of the iraqi

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HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

In 2002 EU made a statment saying that human rights in Iraq were still being disregarded. Next year Bush led an attack against Iraq . Political participation only for those in baath party. Torture centers found around police stations and security offices in Iraq. Tortures and violations carried out by saddam himself and eleven other men called : Saddams Dirty Dozen. In 1994 Hussein regime delivered very severe punishments to law breakers including death and amputations for petty crimes .

PROPAGANDA AND BRAINWASHING BY SADDAMS REGIME

His

statue stood infront of every village . His portrait watched over each government office His portrait peered down from atleast one wall in every household. In Kuwait those that failed to remove the picture of Emir and replace them with those of Saddam were executed. Various pictures of Saddam were drawn all over the city , on the streets and buildings.

ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY SADDAM

1.

Political murders March 1982: during a cabinet meeting he asked the minister of health to step out of the room and then he shot him ,then returned to the meeting as if nothing happened. Colonel Sirri : He was not a baathist ,therefore saddam arrested him accusing him of being a CIA agent .After intense torture he would not yield ,therefore saddam ordered his soldiers to threaten him with raping female membersof his family .Siri gave in and was shot.

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PUBLIC ATROCITIES 1. Used mustard and nerve gas against opposition killing 5000 people . 2. In 1991 he killed 30,000 60,000 kurdish and shiaa to suppress their insurgencies. 3. Ordered destruction of iraqs marsh lands to prevent the march arabs from taking what they said was their land . 4. Led his people into a war with the west after ignoring calls fromUS to rilenquish all weapons of mass destruction. 5. December 1974 five shiaa arabs were executed for posing a threat to baathists and later 20,000 shiaas were expelled.

6. Some people were arrested and killed for failing to replace photos of the emir with photos of saddam. 7. Electric shocks ,beatings to sensitive parts of the body ,breaking of limbs ,finger and toenails plucked off treaths of sexual assault and execution

Amnesty international-we cannot even publish more details on former torture victims Ed vulliamy a journalist for the observer this is what happened to the victims of Musayyib.In the wake of an insurrection anyone suspected with taking part was ordered or taken to an outdoor space and boarded onto vehicles. The vehicles were driven out into nowhere .there the captives were lined up, hands tied and blind folded and pushed into the bottom of pits and in the earthy tomb shot dead.

IRAQS FOREIGN RELATIONSHIPS UNDER SADDAM HUSSEINS CONTROL.

Iraq did not have very good foreign relations with other countries .saddam angered both the US and the UK when he refused to move his troops out of Kuwait. The Iraqi shiites rebeled thinking they have support from the americans and irans but they didnt actualy have that support.They were eradicated through saddams commands .

WAR BETWEEN U.S. AND IRAQ

The purpose of the assault on the Iraqi people was to remove any potentially destructive weapons in Saddams possession . the attack started on March 19, 2003 and the war ended on May 1st 2003 . The estimated number of iraqis that died in this war is that of 1.5million. Saddam was captured on December 14th and executed on december 30th 2004 .

CONSEQUENCES OF SADDAMS DICTATORIAL LEADERSHIP

Iraq

was a country ruled by its beliefs and for this reason the population is seperated into various groups of people with different beliefs in the way that their country should be governed. Saddam was a ruthless and unforgiving leader who killed thousands of kurds, shiite men and women. Important positions in government were only given to Sunni therefore after his death a lot of people were left in a lower social class

NUMBER OF DEATHS WHEN SADDAM WAS DICTATOR

Iraqis sanctionned under saddams regime 1,000,000

1991 rebellion

300,000

Iraq-Iran War

950,000

Kurdi and shiites

700,000

Total dead : c. 2,950,000

SADDAM THE HAND THAT FED

Despite the obvious negative effects of Saddams regime, Iraq still experienced moments of prosperity under his rule
During the 1960s Iraq also experienced an increase in growth in its infrastructure and economic sector his rule, due to measures taken by Saddam for the interests and development of the state. Saddams government fought for the free obligatory education Iraq needed to build a stronger society and also promoted women education. The support by Saddam to farmer and others living in rural areas in Iraq gave rise to the production and thus to an increased income.

In the end Saddam was captured by the americans and was publicly executed by hanging in front of the oublic. He remained a fighter to the end refusing to hide his face .