Tariq Aziz

For other people named Tariq Aziz, see Tariq Aziz (disambiguation).
Tariq Aziz
طارق عزيز
ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܝܘܚܢܢ
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
1983–1991
President Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf
Member of the Revolutionary Command Council
In office
16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003
Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office
1 August 1965 – 9 April 2003
Personal details
Born Mikhail Yuhanna
(1936-04-28)28 April 1936
Tel Keppe, Iraq
Died 5 June 2015(2015-06-05) (aged 79)
Nasiriyah, Iraq
Cause of death Heart attack
Nationality Iraqi Assyrian
Political party Arab Socialist Ba'ath (until 1966)
Baghdad-based Ba'ath (1966–1982) (Ba'ath – Iraq Region)
Spouse(s) Violet Yusef Nobud
Children 4
Profession Journalist, politician
Religion Chaldean Catholic

Tariq Aziz (Arabic: طارق عزيز‎‎ Ṭāriq ʿAzīz, born Mikhail Yuhanna, Syriac: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܝܘܚܢܢ‎ Mīḵā'ēl Yūḥannān, Arabic: ميخائيل يوحنا‎‎ Mīḫāʾīl Yūḥannā, baptized Manuel Christo; 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi Foreign Minister (1983–1991) and Deputy Prime Minister (1979–2003) and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Although he was an Arab nationalist he was in fact an ethnic Chaldean, and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church.[1][2][3]

Because of security concerns, Saddam rarely left Iraq, so Aziz would often represent Iraq at high-level diplomatic summits. What the United States wanted, he averred, was not "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He said that the Bush Administration's reasons for war were "oil and Israel."[4]

After surrendering to American forces on 24 April 2003, Aziz was held in prison, first by American forces and subsequently by the Iraqi government, in Camp Cropper in western Baghdad.[5] He was acquitted of some charges on 1 March 2009 following a trial, but was sentenced to 15 years on 11 March 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds.[6]

On 26 October 2010, he was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, which sparked regional and international condemnation from Iraqi bishops and other Iraqis, the Vatican, the United Nations, the European Union and the human rights organization Amnesty International, as well as various governments around the world, such as Russia.[7] On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Tariq Aziz, as well as 25 fellow prison inmates, had begun a hunger strike to protest the fact that they could not receive their once-monthly visit from friends and relatives, which was normally set for the last Friday of each month.[8]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order, thus commuting his sentence to indefinite imprisonment.[9] Aziz remained in custody the rest of his life and died of a heart attack in the city of Nasiriyah on 5 June 2015, aged 79.[10]

Early life and education

Aziz accompanies Saddam Hussein during a visit on 19–20 December 1983 from Donald Rumsfeld, then Ronald Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East. Rumsfeld later became the American Secretary of Defense and led the coalition forces against Iraq in 2003.

Mikhail Yuhanna (English: Michael John) was born on 28 April 1936, in the Chaldean town of Tel Keppe in northern Iraq,[11] to an ethnic Chaldean family, members of the Chaldean Catholic church. He studied English at Baghdad University and later worked as a journalist, before joining the Ba'ath Party in 1957. He changed his distinctly Christian name to the more Arabic sounding Tariq Aziz to gain acceptance by the Arab and Muslim majority. In 1963, he was editor of the newspaper Aj-Jamahir (al-Jamaheer) and al Thawra, the newspaper of the Ba'ath party.[12]

Political career

Ronald Reagan hosts Aziz at the White House, 1984
Aziz with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on 26 July 2000.

He began to rise through the ranks of Iraqi politics after the Ba'ath party came to power in 1968. Aziz became close to Saddam who heavily promoted him. He served as a member of the Regional Command, the Ba'ath Party's highest governing organization from 1974 to 1977, and in 1977 became a member of Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council.[13]

In 1979, Aziz became Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, and worked as a diplomat to explain Iraq's policies to the world. In April 1980 he survived an Iranian-backed assassination attempt carried out by members of the Islamic Dawa Party. In the attack, members of Islamic Dawa Party threw a grenade at Aziz in central Baghdad. The attack killed several people.[14] It was among the casus belli of the Iran–Iraq War.[15]

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Tariq Aziz served as the international spokesman in support of the military action. He claimed the invasion was justified because Kuwait's increased oil production was harming Iraqi oil revenues. He condemned Arab states for "subservience to the United States' hegemony in the Middle East and their support for punitive sanctions."[16] On 9 January 1991, Aziz was involved in the Geneva Peace Conference which included the United States Secretary of State, James Baker. The goal of the meeting was to discuss a possible resolution to the occupation of Kuwait.[13]

Iraq war

In October 2000, the then-junior Minister for Foreign Affairs from Britain, Peter Hain, set up a secret war avoidance team to carry messages back and forth between himself and Aziz.[17] After initial cooperation, Aziz rebuffed the delegations.[17]

On 14 February 2003, Aziz reportedly had an audience with Pope John Paul II and other officials in Vatican City, where, according to a Vatican statement, he communicated "the wish of the Iraqi government to co-operate with the international community, notably on disarmament". The same statement said that the Pope "insisted on the necessity for Iraq to faithfully respect and give concrete commitments to resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, which is the guarantor of international law".[18]

Weapons of mass destruction

Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush claimed Tariq Aziz as one of the Iraqi regime who was responsible for hiding Iraqi WMD:[19]

President Bush expressed unshakable confidence Saturday about finding banned weapons in Iraq and complained that Tariq Aziz, one of Saddam Hussein's closest deputies, is not cooperating with U.S. forces who have him in custody. Bush said the deputy prime minister, the most visible face of the former Iraqi government other than Hussein, 'still doesn't know how to tell the truth.'
— USA Today, 3 May 2003

Detention

He voluntarily surrendered to American forces on 24 April 2003, after negotiations had been mediated by his son.[20] His chief concern at the time was for the welfare of his family. At the time of his surrender, Aziz was ranked number 43 out of 55 in the American list of most-wanted Iraqis despite a belief "he probably would not know answers to questions like where weapons of mass destruction may be hidden and where Saddam Hussein might be."[20]

Before the war, Aziz claimed he would rather die than be a U.S. prisoner of war: "Do you expect me, after all my history as a militant and as one of the Iraqi leaders, to go to an American prison – to go to Guantanamo? I would rather die", he told Britain's ITV.[21]

Defense witness

On 24 May 2006, Aziz testified in Baghdad as a defense witness for Ibrahim Barzan and Mukhabarat employees, claiming that they did not have any role in the 1982 Dujail crackdown. He stated that the arrests were in response to the assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein, which was carried out by the Shiite Dawa Party. "If the head of state comes under attack, the state is required by law to take action. If the suspects are caught with weapons, it's only natural they should be arrested and put on trial".[22]

He further testified that the Dujail attack was "part of a series of attacks and assassination attempts by this group, including against me." He said that in 1980, Dawa Party insurgents threw a grenade at him as he visited a Baghdad university, killing civilians around him. "I'm a victim of a criminal act conducted by this party, which is in power right now. So put it on trial. Its leader was the prime minister and his deputy is the prime minister right now and they killed innocent Iraqis in 1980," he said.[22] The Dawa Party is now a party in the Shiite coalition that dominates the Iraqi government. The party's leader, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, was prime minister until mid-May, when another leading Dawa Party figure, Nouri al-Maliki, was picked and he was able to form a new government before the end of May 2006.[23]

In his closing remarks, he stated that "Saddam is my colleague and comrade for decades, and Barzan is my brother and my friend and he is not responsible for Dujail's events."[24]

Imprisonment

On 29 May 2005, the British newspaper The Observer published letters (in Arabic and English) from Aziz written in April and May 2005, while he was in American custody, addressed to "world public opinion" pleading for international help to end "his dire situation":[25][26]

It is imperative that there is intervention into our dire situation and treatment ... We hope that you will help us. We have been in prison for a long time and we have been cut from our families. No contacts, no phones, no letters. Even the parcels sent to us by our families are not given to us. We need a fair treatment, a fair investigation and finally a fair trial. Please help us.
— Tariq Aziz, prison letter, April 2005

In August 2005, Aziz's family was allowed to visit him. At the time the location of Aziz's prison was undisclosed; his family was brought in a bus with blackened out windows.[27]

For security reasons he was later moved to Camp Cropper, part of the huge US base surrounding Baghdad airport.[28] His son said that while his father was in poor health, he was being well treated by prison officials. He could make 30 minutes of telephone calls monthly and had access to US Arabic-language radio and television stations. Every two months his family could send a parcel containing clothes, cigarettes, chocolate, coffee and magazines.[28]

The spiritual leader of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic community, Emmanuel III Delly, called for Aziz's release in his 2007 Christmas message. Aziz was acquitted of crimes against humanity.[29]

On 17 January 2010, Aziz suffered a stroke and was transferred from prison to hospital.[30] On 5 August 2010, The Guardian released his first face-to-face interview since his surrender.[31] On 22 September 2010, documents were released that he had given an interview about how he had told the FBI that the dictator Hussein was "delighted" in the 1998 terrorist bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa but had no interest in partnering with Osama bin Laden.[32]

Trial

Aziz was set to appear before the Iraqi High Tribunal set up by the Iraq Interim Government, but not until April 2008 was he brought up on any charges.[29] This changed when, on 29 April 2008, Aziz went on trial over the deaths of a group of 42 merchants who were executed by the Iraqi regime in 1992, after the merchants had been charged by the Iraqi regime with manipulating food prices when Iraq was under international sanctions.[33]

The charges brought against Aziz were reported by The Independent to be "surprising" as the deaths of the 42 merchants had always previously been attributed to Saddam Hussein.[34] Nevertheless, on 11 March 2009 the Iraqi High Tribunal ruled that Aziz was guilty of crimes against humanity, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[35] On 2 August 2009, Aziz was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of helping to plan the forced displacement of Kurds from northeastern Iraq and sentenced to seven years in jail.[36] After these judgments had been passed, the BBC News published an article stating that, "there was no evidence that a Western court would regard as compelling that he had anything like final responsibility for the carrying out of the executions" of the 42 merchants and "there was no real evidence of his personal involvement and guilt" with regards to the displacement of Kurds.[37] That same year, he was acquitted in a separate trial which concerned the suppression of an uprising in Baghdad during the 1990s.[35]

On 26 October 2010, the Iraqi High Tribunal handed down a death sentence against Aziz for the offense of "persecution of Islamic parties,"[38] amongst them the serving Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, following a crackdown on a Shia uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.[28] The Associated Press reports that "the judge gave no details of Aziz's specific role" in the crackdown. His lawyer stated that Tariq Aziz's role in the former Iraqi government was in the arena of "Iraq's diplomatic and political relations only, and had nothing to do with the executions and purges carried during Hussein's reign."[39] His lawyer further stated that the death sentence itself was politically motivated and that timing of the death sentence may have been aimed at diverting international attention away from documents released by WikiLeaks, which detailed crimes in which Maliki government officials have been implicated.[40] His lawyers have 30 days to lodge an appeal, following which the court would have another 30 days to look into the appeal; if the appeal is turned down the sentence would be carried out after another 30 days.[40] On 26 October 2010 the Vatican urged the Iraqi government not to carry out his execution, and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton stated that Aziz's execution would be "unacceptable and the EU will seek to commute his sentence."[41] That same day, the human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the use of the death penalty in this case, as well as for the cases of two other former Iraqi officials; the statement also expressed concern regarding the manner in which trials may have been conducted by the Iraqi High Tribunal.[42] On 27 October 2010, Greek President Karolos Papoulias and the Russian Foreign Ministry both released statements urging the Iraqi government not to carry out the death penalty against Tariq Aziz.[43][44] Also on 27 October 2010, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was reported to have "stressed that the UN is against the death sentence and in this case, as in all others, it is calling for the verdict to be cancelled."[45] On 28 October 2010, it was reported that some Iraqi Bishops and many ordinary Iraqis also condemned the death penalty for Tariq Aziz.[46] Furthermore, according to the Wall Street Journal, "several international human-rights groups have criticised the procedures and questioned the impartiality of the court."[47]

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), his family stated that Aziz, along with 25 fellow inmates, had been on a hunger strike following the sentence to protest the denial of their once-monthly visits with family and friends, but an Iraqi court official has denied this.[48] According to AFP, Aziz and the other prisoners were "still at the site of the court in Baghdad’s Green Zone and had not been transferred back to prison where they could have received their monthly visit."

On 17 November 2010, it was reported that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order.[9][49] On 5 December 2011, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, an adviser to the Prime Minister, had claimed the execution of Aziz would "definitely take place" after the withdrawal of American forces.[50]

Family

In 2001, his son Ziad was arrested for corruption. In January 1999 Ziad was accused by his former mistress of using the official position of his father (mostly his cars) to facilitate smooth crossing of the Jordanian border with contraband, attempted murder of her husband and family, as well as for corruption involving French and Indonesian companies. He was arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Aziz resigned from his post but Hussein did not accept his resignation.[51] Ziad was eventually released from prison when Hussein decided that Aziz had paid enough for his mistakes.[52]

Ziad Aziz now lives in Jordan with his wife, four children, and Tariq Aziz's two sisters. Tariq Aziz's wife and another son live in Yemen.[53]

Death

Tariq Aziz died on 5 June 2015 in al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah, at the age of 79.[54] According to his lawyer, he was being treated well in prison but suffered from ill health and simply wanted an end to his "misery". The incarcerated Aziz suffered from depression, diabetes, heart disease, and ulcers.[55] Aziz's daughter, Zeinab, claimed his body was stolen at Baghdad International Airport en route to Jordan by unidentified men on 11 June, but it was recovered the day after. Jordanian authorities said the body had not been stolen, but merely delayed until the relevant paperwork was filled out.[56][57][58] Aziz was buried in Amman.[56]

References

  1. ↑ "Free Tariq Aziz". chaldeannews.com.
  2. ↑ "Minority Rights Group International : Iraq : Chaldeans". minorityrights.org.
  3. ↑ "Tariq Aziz Faces Trial in Iraq". chaldeannews.com.
  4. ↑ Burns, John F. (22 October 2002). "Threats and Responses: Baghdad's View; Citing North Korea, an Iraqi Aide Says 'Oil and Israel', Not Weapons, Spur the U.S.". New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
  5. ↑ U.S. Attack Near Baghdad Reported to Kill at Least 4500 (NY Times)
  6. ↑ "Tariq Aziz guilty of Iraq murders". BBC. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  7. ↑ "Death sentence for Tariq Aziz draws international condemnation". Russia Today. 27 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "Iraq's Tareq Aziz on hunger strike: son". AFP. 29 October 2010.
  9. 1 2 Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2010
  10. ↑ Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz dies at age 79 New York Post, June 5, 2015
  11. ↑ "معاهدة جبر- بيفن صنعته سياسيًا ووجد في البعث ضالته! طارق عزيز رجل الدبلوماسية والنظارات السميكة وال". Ankawa. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Hanna Batatu, The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq (Princeton, 1978).
  13. 1 2 "Profile: Tariq Aziz". Al Jazeera. 26 Oct 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Whitaker, Brian (25 April 2003). "Christian outsider in Saddam's inner circle". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  15. ↑ Sick, Gary (2003). "Iran: Confronting terrorism". The Washington Quarterly. 26 (4): 83–98. doi:10.1162/016366003322387127.
  16. ↑ iraqi News Retrieved on 3 August 2007.
  17. 1 2 Anton La Guardia, David Blair and Andrew Sparrow (6 May 2003). "Britain kept open secret channel to Iraq". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  18. ↑ "Intervention of the Holy See on the Iraqi issue". vatican.va.
  19. ↑ "Bush: Aziz 'still doesn't know how to tell the truth'". USA Today. Associated Press. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2008. President Bush expressed unshakable confidence Saturday about finding banned weapons in Iraq and complained that Tariq Aziz, one of Saddam Hussein's closest deputies, is not cooperating with U.S. forces who have him in custody.Bush said the deputy prime minister, the most visible face of the former Iraqi government other than Hussein, "still doesn't know how to tell the truth."
  20. 1 2 "Son of Tariq Aziz Negotiated Surrender". ABC News. 25 April 2003.
  21. ↑ "Tariq Aziz in U.S. Custody". CNN. 24 April 2003.
  22. 1 2 "Tariq Aziz Takes Stand in Saddam Trial". CBS Broadcasting Inc. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2008. that the crackdown was a legitimate response to the assassination attempt and that the prosecution has blamed the wrong authorities for the sweep. In particular, they have said the general security services were responsible for the arrests, not Ibrahim's Mukhabarat or the People's Army, headed at the time by co-defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan.... "If the head of state comes under attack, the state is required by law to take action. If the suspects are caught with weapons, it's only natural they should be arrested and put on trial,"
  23. ↑ "Profile: Nouri Maliki". BBC News. 20 May 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2008. Iraq's new Prime Minister Nouri Maliki – who is also sometimes called Jawad Maliki – is a stalwart of the Dawa party, the Shia political group that for years led an armed underground resistance to the secular Baathist leadership of Saddam Hussein.
  24. ↑ "Aziz testifies for Saddam defence". BBC News. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  25. ↑ PDF The Guardian file
  26. ↑ Antony Barnett (29 May 2005). "The extraordinary pleas of Saddam's right-hand man". The Observer. London. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  27. ↑ Hawley, Caroline (20 August 2005). "Family visits Aziz in Iraq prison". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  28. 1 2 3 Fletcher, Martin (21 March 2008). "Freedom plea for Tariq Aziz, Saddam's dying apologist". The Times. London, UK. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  29. 1 2 "Call to free Iraq's Tariq Aziz". BBC. 24 December 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  30. ↑ "Tariq Aziz 'has stroke in prison'". BBC News. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  31. ↑ Chulov, Martin (5 August 2010). "Tariq Aziz: 'Britain and the US killed Iraq. I wish I was martyred'". The Guardian. UK: Guardian Media Group.
  32. ↑ Burns, Robert (22 September 2010). "Iraqi: Saddam 'delighted' in terror attacks on US". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  33. ↑ "Tariq Aziz guilty of Iraq murders". BBC News. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  34. ↑ Cockburn, Patrick (25 April 2008). "Tariq Aziz faces trial for executing 42". The Independent. UK.
  35. 1 2 "Tariq Aziz, 'Chemical Ali' sentenced by Iraq court". CNN. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  36. ↑ "Former Iraqi Official Gets 7 Years for Expelling Kurds". Voice of America. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  37. ↑ "Tariq Aziz: Saddam's dangerously loyal courtier". BBC News. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  38. ↑ "Iraqi ex-minister Tariq Aziz sentenced to death". BBC News. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  39. ↑ "Former top Iraqi leader sentenced to death". UPI. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  40. 1 2 "Tariq Aziz sentenced to death". Al Jazeera. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  41. ↑ "Italy: Holy See condemns Tariq Aziz death sentence". AKI. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  42. ↑ "Former Saddam Hussain officials face death penalty". AI. 26 October 2010.
  43. ↑ "Greece urges Iraq to spare former foreign minister Tariq Aziz from execution". Associated Press. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  44. ↑ "Russia opposes Aziz death sentence". Voice of Russia. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  45. ↑ "Death sentence for Tariq Aziz draws international condemnation". Russia Today. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  46. ↑ "Iraq: Iraqi bishops againt [sic] hanging Tareq Aziz". Spero News. 28 October 2010.
  47. ↑ Dagher, Sam (27 October 2010). "Iraq's Aziz Faces Death Sentence". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  48. ↑ "Iraq court official denies Tariq Aziz on hunger strike". The Daily Star. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  49. ↑ "Aziz gets 10 years for atrocities on Kurds". The Age. Melbourne.
  50. ↑ "Iraqi leader under Saddam Hussein to be executed, official in Baghdad says". CNN. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  51. ↑ Butt, Gerald (29 Aug 2001). "Tariq Aziz quits over corrupt son". The Daily Telegraph. London. The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  52. ↑ Chulov, Martin (26 Oct 2010). "Tariq Aziz sentenced to death". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  53. ↑ Massoud Derhally (7 January 2011). "Iraq's Aziz May Die in Months, Must Be Freed, Son Says". Bloomberg.com.
  54. ↑ "Iraq's Tariq Aziz 'dies in prison'". BBC News. 5 June 2015.
  55. ↑ World News (5 June 2015). "Iraq War 10 Years Later: Where Are They Now? Tariq Aziz". NBC News.
  56. 1 2 http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/06/13/body-of-saddam-deputy-tariq-aziz-buried-in-jordan
  57. ↑ http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/06/11/tariq-aziz-family-says-his-body-has-gone-missing-in-iraq
  58. ↑ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/saddam-aide-tariq-aziz-body-missing-iraq-150611190934382.html
Political offices
Preceded by
Nasser al-Hani		 Foreign Minister of Iraq
1983–1991 		Succeeded by
Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf
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