CHIRAC ASSURED EBADI OF FRANCE AND EU'S SUPPORT FOR REFORMS IN IRAN
By Safa Haeri
PARIS 15 Dec. (IPS) "I hope that the fate of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hoseyn became "a lesson" for all other who, across the world, pay no attention to human rights", said the Iranian Nobel Peace laureate for 2003, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi on Monday.
She made the remarks to reporters after meeting the French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace, who assured the Iranian lawyer and human rights campaigner of both France’s and European Union’s "firm support" for Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and freedom.
"During the meeting, Mrs. Ebadi called on Mr. Chirac for the support of
France and the European Union for the cause of reforming Islamic Republic’s
system of elections", an official communiqué from the Presidential Palace
stated.
Mrs. Ebadi’s request concerns the controversial so-called "Special Rights" that allows the leader-controlled Council of Guardians to approve or reject any candidate to any elections in the nation, observers said.
Mrs. Ebadi is the first Iranian and Muslim woman to receive the prestigious award, one that she officially received in Oslo on 10 December, provoking the anger of Iranian ruling ayatollahs, outraged of the fact when outside Iran, she is always dressed in western outfits, not wearing the hejab, or the mandatory dress for all Muslim women.
In an interview to the French influential daily "Le Monde", Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who is a junior cleric, said he had advised Mrs. Ebadi to wear the hejab during the acceptance ceremonies, "but everyone is free of his choice", he added, conceding for the first time that Iranian Muslim women were not obliged to put on the Islamic dress.
"Although Saddam Hoseyn is accused of crimes against humanity, but he nevertheless, like any other criminal, he has the right to a fair, just and independent trial and therefore I sincerely hope that he would be tried in an international independent court", she added in reply to questions about the capture of the Iraqi dictator.
An unshaved, haggard, almost filthy Hoseyn was captured late Saturday night by a combination of American Special Task Force assisted by Kurdish Peshmerga (fighters) belonging to Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
"Iraqis were not the only ones who suffered from Saddam Hoseyn. One shall not forget his attacks on Iran and on Kuwait. One I speak about a just and fair international trial, I mean that all these questions must also be taken into consideration", she explained, quoted by the Persian service of Radio France International.
In her opinion, not only Mr. Hoseyn must be tried for the crimes he committed against humanity, but also for the damages that are related to human rights violation "and in this regard, both the Iranian government and Iranian people are complainants", she further observed.
Tehran said on Monday that it was preparing a criminal complaint to present at any international court that may try Mr. Hoseyn over the war he imposed on Iran in 1980, a war that lasted for eight years, leaving a million dead and wounded, including thousands Iranians disabled for life because of massive use of chemical arms by Iraqi forces.
"The Foreign Ministry has taken some measures on this issue and has collected the necessary documents. I hope we can defend Iranians' rightful demands at a proper place", government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told a news conference.
Iran says that as a result of the War, it suffered "hundreds of billions US Dollars" of damages that Mr. Hoseyn never accepted to pay. ENDS EBADI CHIRAC MEETING 151203