A friend mourns the dictator

SRINAGAR: Thousands of miles away from Iraq, the execution of Saddam Hussein is mourned by a J&K leader in solitude. A "friend" of the former Iraqi president, Prof Bhim Singh, president of the J&K Panthers Party, has been in the forefront seeking justice for the rebel hero. He even floated 'International Defence Committee for Saddam (IDCS)' with 11 other lawyers to defend the slain leader, but to no avail.

 

"It is a huge loss for me. Saddam was a great friend of mine," he said.

 

Such was his friendship with the former Iraqi president that Singh was allotted coupons for 7.3 million barrels of oil under the oil-for-food scheme in Iraq. Volker committee, probing the scandal, even named Prof Singh as one of those favored by Saddam.

 

"I was the only leader who was allotted coupons for 7.3 million gallons of oil. But I didn't lift the oil, though the Congress did. Even Volker has mentioned it in his report," he added.

 

Singh has written a number of books on Iraq and has made several commissioned films for Doordarshan.

 

"I wrote the book, 'Iraq: A heroic resistance' in 2001. I also made several films on Iraq. I had special access to Saddam whenever I visited Iraq," he said.

 

Saturday is the darkest day in the history of the world. "The execution will spell doom for the Americans and Britishers, who want to gain control over the oil resources in the Middle East," Singh said.