In 1979, immediately upon coming to power, Saddam Hussein silenced all political opposition in Iraq and converted his one-party state into a cult of personality. Over the more than 20 years since then, his regime has systematically executed, tortured, imprisoned, raped, terrorized, and repressed Iraqi people. Iraq is a nation rich in culture with a long history of intellectual and scientific achievement. Yet Saddam Hussein has silenced its scholars and doctors, as well as its women and children.

Iraqi dissidents are tortured or killed or they disappear in order to deter other Iraqi citizens from speaking out against the government or demanding change. A system of collective punishment tortures entire families or ethnic groups for the acts of one dissident. Women are raped and often videotaped during rape to blackmail their families. Citizens are publicly beheaded, and their families are required to display the heads of the deceased as a warning to others who might question the politics of this regime. Saddam Hussein was also the first leader to use chemical weapons against his own population, silencing more than 60 villages and 30,000 citizens with poisonous gas.

Saddam Hussein has tried to silence ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq as well. During the Anfal Campaign of 1987-88, Saddam Hussein's regime killed and tortured the Kurdish population. It eliminated many Kurdish villages and forced surviving Kurds into zones where he could control them. His regime has suppressed the Shi'a religious community through killings and arrests and bans their Friday prayers and books in certain regions. He has also targeted the citizens of other nations in his region, killing and torturing Kuwaiti and Iranian citizens, among others.

The Iraqi people are not allowed to vote to remove the government. Freedom of expression, association, and movement do not exist in Iraq. The media is tightly controlled — Saddam Hussein's son owns the daily Iraqi newspaper. Iraqi citizens cannot assemble except in support of the government. Iraqi citizens cannot freely leave Iraq.

The international community, including the United Nations and internationally-based nongovernmental organizations, has documented and repeatedly condemned this regime's horrific record of abuse. Saddam Hussein simply ignores the will of the rest of the world.

Saddam Hussein has given the Iraqi people a terrible choice: to remain silent — or face the consequences. But despite his regime's attempts to silence the Iraqi people, their voices are still being heard.

Al-Shaikh Yahya Muhsin Ja'far al-Zeini »