Demanding apology from Russian Foreign Ministry
Iraqi Dawa Party outraged by Russian remarks on Saddam Hussein
BAGHDAD – Remarks by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova have sparked outrage and condemnation from Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party. Zakharova referred to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a “legitimate leader of a sovereign state” and criticized the “illegal Western occupation” of Iraq, blaming the United States for “a series of insane executions and reprisals against officials and civilians.”
The party of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who oversaw Saddam Hussein’s execution, labeled Zakharova’s comments as “provocative” and called on the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to formally protest her statements.
“This reveals her complete ignorance of Iraq’s history and events. International conflict should not come at the expense of obscuring facts and whitewashing the dark pages of tyrants and terrorists,” said an Islamic Dawa Party spokesperson in a statement obtained by 964media.
“Iraqis received these irresponsible statements with deep regret and disapproval from an official in a country with good relations with Iraq,” the spokesperson emphasized. The party urged the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to officially protest the remarks and seek a correction and apology to the Iraqi people.
Zakharova’s comments on her Telegram page came in response to a comparison by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who likened Turkish President Erdogan to Saddam Hussein, suggesting Erdogan was following Saddam’s path and threatening to attack Israel, accompanying his post with an image of Saddam being tortured.
Zakharova reiterated that the events in Iraq involved an attack by the US, UK, and NATO under false pretenses, including the fictitious claims of weapons of mass destruction. She highlighted the illegal occupation of Iraq by Western powers, the killing of what she called a legitimate leader, and the ensuing chaos and reprisals against officials and civilians, resulting in years of turmoil.
Zakharova pointed out that the civilian death toll in Iraq remains uncounted but is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands to a million. She noted that Iraqi military personnel were expelled from their positions and homeland, which, with Western involvement, led to the rise of the Islamic State.
“The events in Iraq, for which the United States bears responsibility, have become synonymous with the absolute evil of American foreign policy and its criminal and destructive nature. Does the Israeli minister’s statement imply approval of such international activities?” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson concluded.
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