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Iraqis march in support of Saddam
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Dancing to drums and tambourines, tens of thousands of Iraqis -- many of them armed with Kalashnikovs -- demonstrated across the country Saturday to support President Saddam Hussein and denounce the United States. "Our swords are out of their sheaths, ready for battle," read one of hundreds of banners carried by marchers along Palestine Street, a broad Baghdad avenue. Many hoisted giant pictures of Saddam. The demonstrations came on a day of anti-war protests around the world -- and a day after the United States and Britain failed to persuade their allies on the U.N. Security Council to support their threatened war against Iraq. (Full story) U.N. weapons inspectors indicated Friday that Saddam has shown increasing cooperation with their mission to make sure Iraq has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said after meeting Pope John Paul II in Rome that Iraq will do "whatever is possible" to show the world Iraq has no such weapons. In a gesture to the United Nations, Saddam issued a decree just before the chief inspectors' presentation outlawing the production of importing of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and of the materials used to make them. "All ministries should implement this decree and take whatever measures are necessary to punish people who do not adhere to it," the decree read. Iraq's parliament had been expected to adopt similar legislation Friday, but Saddam -- apparently wanting to stamp a key decision with his own name -- issued the ban minutes before parliament met.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reacted skeptically, saying: "If one would want to make believe and pretend that Iraq is a democracy that could pass meaningful laws, it would be 12 years late and 26,000 liters of anthrax short." But U.N. inspectors welcomed it. The demonstration on Palestine Street appeared carefully scripted. Senior leaders of Saddam's Baath Party greeted demonstrators from a stage erected for the occasion while sharpshooters watched from surrounding rooftops. Some demonstrators wore the olive green uniforms of the Baath Party. Women in black chadors held pictures of Saddam. Men in traditional Arab robes carried rifles. "God has mercy on those who come to us," a man yelled into a megaphone. The demonstrations made no reference to the events at the United Nations, but Baghdad was certain to take heart from the responses of China, France and Russia -- three Security Council members with veto power -- that inspections are making progress and should be given more time. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was met with silence as he pressed reluctant allies to threaten Iraq with force, saying they should not be taken in by "tricks that are being played on us." "More inspections -- I am sorry -- are not the answer," Powell told the Security Council. Iraq's 250-seat parliament unanimously adopted a strongly worded resolution Friday accusing America and Britain of scheming to control Iraq and steal its oil. Before voting on the resolution, lawmakers took turns to condemn America and pledge their loyalty to Saddam. Iraq is banned from having weapons of mass destruction under U.N. resolutions adopted following the 1991 Gulf War. After that war, U.N. inspectors oversaw the destruction of the bulk of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and dismantled the country's program to develop nuclear weapons. The inspections resumed in November after a four-year break to search for remaining weapons or revived programs. On Saturday, inspectors visited a factory that builds fuses for missiles, an ammunition depot north of Baghdad, a heavy engines factory on the outskirts of the capital, an agricultural college west of Baghdad and the Saddam Center for Technology at Baghdad University, according to Iraq's Information Ministry. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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