In the Middle East news of Saddam Hussein's capture was received with various comments, even those which opposed it. Below we report comments gathered by our AsiaNews editing staff.

 

Qatar

Doha (AsiaNews/SCMP) – Saddam Hussein's arrest is a turning point for Iraq and the Middle East; it is a strong message for all monarchies and dictatorships in Arab countries which supported Saddam Hussein and who have denied democracy to their people, said  Louay Bahry, Iraqi professor of political science at the University of Qatar. "They will have to learn to change and accept the requests of their citizens", he said. For more than 30 years Saddam Hussein's brutal reign terrorized and silenced many people. The dark veil has finally been lifted. "The will feel freer to say what they think what is right to re-establish order to their country… (Hussein's) followers will diminish. This doesn't mean that there will no longer be resistance to Americans and that there won't be reactions from religious extremists."

 

Syria

Damascus (AsiaNews/An Nahar) – Syria's Information Minister, Ahmad Al-Hassan, made the following comment on Saddam Hussein's capture: "Syria doesn't base its policies on the fates of individuals and hopes for an end to the occupation in Iraq and the creation of an independent government represented by its people".

 

Egypt – Arab League

Cairo (AsiaNews/Al Hayat) – Ahmad Maher, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, hoped that Saddam Hussein's capture "would accelerate the return of power to the hands of the Iraqi people".

Arab League Secretary General, Omru Mussa, defined Hussein's capture as "important event" and considers it to be "the fall and definitive end of the former regime".

Palestine

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/agencies) -Yasser Arafat and his government released no comment on Saddam Hussein's capture. But Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, said "America will pay a high price for the mistake" of capturing Saddam Hussein. "What the United States did was horrible and should be condemned. It is an insult to all Arabs and Muslims".

Hamas and other Islamic groups said the arrest of the former dictator will not end the attacks tied to "Iraqi resistance".

Israel

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/agencies) – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called President George W. Bush to congratulate him on the successful military arrest operation.

"I said to Bush that this is a great day for the world of democracy, for those fighting for freedom and justice and for those opposed to terrorism." Sharon told journalists.

Jordan

Amman (AsiaNews/Al Hayat) – Asma Khadr, spokesman for Jordan's government, said: "I hope this chapter is history is finally over and that the Iraqi people may take as little as possible in restoring power and building a future in consensus with its citizens, of all religious creeds".

 

Saudi Arabia

Raid (AsiaNews) – There is still no official statement released by the Saudi Arabian government. But Abdulrahman Al-Zamil, a member of parliament, was interviewed by Voice of America. In the interview he defined the capture of the Iraqi Rais as "a psychological victory for Iraqis, who can now concentrate on their own future without the fear of Saddam returning to power."

Iran

Tehran (AsiaNews/IRNA) – Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hamid-Reza Asefi, is satisfied with the capture of Saddam Hussein.  He said the "Nation of Iran shares in the joy of the Iraqi people." Asefi also said he hoped that all this "would facilitate the transferring of power to the Iraqi people and the withdrawing of forces occupying the region."

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