The ‘cleansing’ of the party and the palaces

A senior member of the ruling Baath party was executed in the southern city of Basra on charges of bribery and embezzlement. Ali Hassan al-Majeed, a cousin and trusted lieutenant of President Saddam Hussein, supervised the execution in a square in the middle of the city and in the presence of a huge crowd of people. The executed Baath party member was identified as Jaber Zugheir. He was member of the Baath party branch in Basra and head of a union grouping Iraqis with war medals and with alleged unwavering loyalty to Saddam. (Sources: Amman, Iraq Press, 20/02/2002)
March 18, 2002: President Saddam Hussein executed two guards and a butler allegedly for stealing personal items from one of his palaces. The three were killed in the gardens of his luxurious palace complex on the shores of al-Tharthar artificial lake north of Baghdad. Saddam made an unannounced visit of the palace early in March after a ten-month absence. He was stunned to find that a painting, a television set and a few pairs of his shoes were missing. Saddam gathered security guards and servants in the palace and demanded an explanation. Two guards and a butler confessed that they had stolen his belongings and asked for mercy. Saddam had them shot instantly in front of their colleagues. One of the officers was from the Hamam al-Alil area in the suburbs of Mosul and the other from Diyali.Saddam has 43 major palace complexes across the country. All are luxuriously furnished and kept tidy and clean round the clock. The servants, sentries and administrative staff are under strict instructions to prepare the palaces as if Saddam and his family live there permanently. Lavish meals are cooked three times a day and the air-conditioned bedrooms and halls are serviced round the clock. It was not the first time the Iraqi strongman ordered the execution of palace servants and sentries on charges of theft. (Sources: Arbil, Iraq Press, 18/03/2002)
July 14, 2002: the Iraqi President executed several fishermen from the Duleimi tribe. The massacre took place at al-Tharthar Lake, 120 kilometers north of Baghdad, where the Iraqi strongman has constructed several palaces and hideouts. The man-made lake is rich in fish and other forms of sea life. It used to supply Mosul, Iraq´s second largest city, and other towns with fish. But Saddam has declared the huge lake off-limits following the building of several palaces on its shores. He has also placed a ban on the use of firearms and dynamites in its vicinity. The last time he was in Tharthar he heard explosions which his bodyguards allegedly attributed to Duleimi tribesmen fishing in the lake. Saddam was so incensed that he ordered their execution on the spot, fearing that the explosions might have been part of a coup to kill him.The sources did not say how many fishermen were exactly put death by Saddam. The killing is said to have angered the elders of Duleimi tribe, whose members inhabit the desert west and north-west of Baghdad. The restive Duleimi tribe rose against the regime in a popular rebellion in Ramadi in 1996 when one of its members, a senior air-force officer, was executed allegedly for plotting to kill Saddam.Fishing is a pastime which Saddam enjoys immensely and has palaces and retreats in major lakes in the country. Ponds and lakes, which he also uses as fish farms, are a fundamental feature of his palaces. He has banned the use of explosives and poison in fishing in Iraq and threatened violators with serious consequences, which include hefty fines and long prison terms. (Sources: London, Iraq Press, 14/07/2002)