Saddam must face ICC - Tutu
2003-12-15 17:18
Donwald Pressly
Cape Town - Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu says that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is innocent until proven otherwise and that he should be tried by the international criminal court.
He was speaking at the signing ceremony - with Cape Town Mayor Nomaindia Mfeteko - to establish the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre.
Tutu, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said: "I think someone like that (Saddam Hussein)... all people like that ... should be brought before the international criminal court. I hope that all of those involved will say they respect international law.
"Whatever we may feel, we have to accept the principles ... until he is found guilty ... you have to assume that he is innocent."
He went on to say: "Otherwise we allow ourselves to be subverted by the very terrorism we say we want to counteract."
Hussein was captured by coalition forces at a dugout near his home town of Tikrit at the weekend.
Peace centre
Meanwhile, Mfeteko said the envisaged peace centre, a partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust, would focus "much of its teaching a development programmes on the youth, on women in leadership positions and on the development of community leadership".
"The centre will bring knowledge of experiences in the facilitation of reconciliation from elsewhere on our continent and elsewhere in the world."
The centre had the potential to become the engine room behind the export of one of the country's "most treasured assets" - the ability to find peaceful solutions to complex problems.
The centre will include a leadership academy, a museum - which will focus on the life of Tutu, the cleric and Nobel Laureate - and "supportive" accommodation.
The academy will offer courses and work to nurture ethical, visionary leadership.
It is tentatively envisaged that the centre - which will also have a place for reflection - will be built next to the existing Cape Town Convention Centre at the foreshore of Cape Town.
- I-Net Bridge (News24)