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IRAQ: Europe Welcomes the Fall of Saddam
By Stefania Bianchi
BRUSSELS, Apr 10 (IPS) - As crowds took to the streets of Baghdad to
celebrate the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime on Wednesday, European
leaders greeted the news with a mixture of joy and relief.
Even France, Germany and Russia that are staunch opponents of the
war, welcomed the swift end to the three-week campaign in Iraq, but
stressed the importance of a speedy reconstruction programme.
Coalition troops took control of the city of Baghdad on Wednesday
after 20 days of fierce fighting in the country.
As the dramatic scenes unfolded in Baghdad, British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, who has been the U.S.'s closest ally in the war, was
"delighted" about the coalition victory, but remained cautious about the
situation there.
A spokesperson for Blair said: "We are all watching these images
along with the rest of the country and are delighted with what we are
seeing. However, we have to be careful about prematurely declaring
victory when there could still be resistance of a high degree."
In France, President Jacques Chirac welcomed the news of Saddam's
collapse and said he hoped that fighting in the country would end soon.
"France, like all democracies, expresses satisfaction at the fall of
the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and hopes for a quick and effective
end to the fighting," the president's office said in a statement.
"It is now necessary to create conditions that would return to the
Iraqi people their freedom and liberty."
He also stressed the urgency of delivering humanitarian aid and the
importance of the United Nations (UN) involvement in post-war
reconstruction.
Renaud Muselier, secretary of state at France's Foreign Ministry,
said: "To win the war is one thing, but now it is necessary to win the
peace. It is very clear in our mind that we can establish peace only in
a multilateral framework and with the United Nations."
France was the main opponent of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and
said it would veto any resolution to authorise it in the UN Security
Council.
However, Chirac's objection to the war may have serious implications
on his future role in Europe. The French newspaper 'Liberation' is
already warning that the president is now threatened with isolation on
the international stage. The paper says he has become "the king of peace
without a crown".
In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who also opposes the
conflict, welcomed what he called the "joyous signs" of what he hoped
"could soon be the end of the war in Iraq".
"Each day that shows the end of the war is approaching is a good day.
That's why we welcome these signs," Chancellor Schroeder said. "We also
think that the goal now should be to transform a probable and hoped for
military gain into a political gain."
Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, another staunch opponent of
the U.S.-led war, described the news from Baghdad as "marvellous",
saying, "No one wanted this war to continue for one day more."
Elsewhere, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, the head of the
only other country to send troops to Iraq, compared the collapse of
Saddam's dictatorship to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ousting of
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu in 1989.
While the Danish Foreign Minister, Pet Stig Moeller, promised that
his country would send emergency aid very soon.
However, certain sections of the European press objected to the
manner of Saddam's downfall. Spain's 'El Pais' said that by going to
war, the allies "foiled any chances of defeating Saddam Hussein by
peaceful means" and "of advancing towards a world in which everyone
obeys the law rather then the will of the strongest".
The German daily 'Die Welt' upheld this view saying, "The era of an
international law designed to protect democracies and despots in equal
measure is over."
On the same day, Britain embarked on a fresh diplomatic offensive to
seek support from key European countries for Iraq's post-war
reconstruction. Blair favours a significant role for the UN and is
trying to rebuild ties with France, Germany and Russia, which share the
same view on reconstruction.
Chancellor Schroeder, President Chirac and his Russian counterpart
Valdimir Putin are expected to outline their vision of Iraq's future
when they meet in St. Petersburg on Friday.
European Union leaders from 15 member states are likely to do the
same at their meeting in Athens, Greece, next week. (END/2003)
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