December 15, 2003	Monday	Shawwal 20, 1424

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, on Sunday said that the United Nations was ready “to do everything possible to help the Iraqi people if asked and as circumstances permit.”

In a statement issued after the capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by the US forces in Tikrit, Mr Annan said that he “considers that the capture of Saddam Hussein, the epitome of the former regime, as an important event.”

“It offers an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq, on the basis of an inclusive and fully transparent process,” Mr Annan said.

Reactions around the world:

IRAQIS: Iraqis celebrated the arrest of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein by distributing sweets, dancing and cheering on the streets, according to al-Jazeera footage on Sunday.

Al-Jazeera showed members of the Iraqi Communist Party waving huge red flags, cheering, dancing and making the “V” sign for victory in celebration of Saddam’s arrest.

ARAB LEAGUE: There were mixed feelings in Arab states as they awoke to the news that Saddam Hussein had been arrested.

Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Mussa said the arrest of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a “significant step in the development of Iraq. The people of Iraq should speak and make a decision to put Saddam on trial,” he said.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s government welcomed the news of the capture, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah said the capture was “fair judgment for Kuwaitis who suffered at the hands of Saddam”.

In Kuwait thousands of people were dancing in the streets with joy and shooting guns in the air.

JORDAN: Jordanians received the news with a mixture of shock, disbelief and anger.

The news spread like wildfire through this neighbouring country, where most of the five million population once revered the former leader and a “pan-Arab idol and saviour of Palestine”.

Nabil, 44, said Saddam Hussein “should have committed suicide before falling in captivity.”

“It is a sad day,” said Musa, a journalist. “Saddam’s detention is a coded message to all Arab leaders: Whoever refuses to heed US orders will face the same destiny.”

PALESTINIANS: Palestinian militant leaders said that the arrest would not mean the end to what they called Iraqi resistance.

Officials from the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad urged the Iraqi people “never to surrender” and to continue resisting the Americans “until the end of their occupation of Arab and Moslem territory”.

Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa that by arresting Saddam, the United States had achieved a very simple symbolic triumph.

“But we are certain that this triumph of the Americans in Iraq will never end the Iraqi people’s resistance to the American occupation that is taking their lands from them,” he said.

EGYPT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said he did not think anyone would feel sorry for the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“I don’t think anyone will be sad for Saddam Hussein but I also don’t think the issue should be given this much importance. The most important concern is the stability and sovereignty of Iraq,” Maher told journalists. Maher also said Egypt supported a fair trial for Saddam. “We support a fair trial for any person and that anyone should have the right to a defence,” he said.

UK: British Prime Minister Tony Blair Sunday welcomed the capture alive of Saddam Hussein saying this was “very good news for the people of Iraq”.

“This is very good news for the people of Iraq. It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime,” Blair said.

Other British political leaders also welcomed the news.

FRANCE: French President Jacques Chirac expressed satisfaction at the capture of Saddam Hussein.

“The capture is a great occurrence which will contribute enormously to the democratisation and stabilisation process in Iraq”, Catherine Colonna, a spokeswoman for Chirac said on Sunday in Paris. In another reaction, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Sunday : “A page has turned in the Iraqi dictatorship.”

JAPAN: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the capture would help efforts to rebuild Iraq and improve security in the country.

“The capture of President Hussein is a big step forward for the progress of security and the reconstruction of Iraq, and I welcome it,” Koizumi said in a statement.

GERMANY: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder congratulated George W. Bush on the capture of Saddam Hussein Sunday in a letter to the US president.

In a letter set to Bush and released by the German government, Schroeder expressed hope the arrest would lead to increased stability in postwar Iraq.

SOLANA/EU: The European Union’s foreign policy envoy Javier Solana hailed Sunday the capture of Saddam Hussein as a “very important day” for Iraq that would accelerate the war-torn country’s return to stability.

“This is a very important day for the people of Iraq,” Solana said in a brief statement.

ISRAEL: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he personally congratulated US President George W. Bush for the capture of Saddam Hussein, calling it a great day for the democratic world.

“I have spoken two hours ago to President Bush. I congratulated him for the successful operation which led to the capture of Saddam Hussein,” Sharon told reporters here as he received a US congressional delegation.

BELGIUM: The Belgian government — which fiercely opposed the war in Iraq — welcomed the capture of Saddam Hussein as a big step towards restoring stability and security to the war-torn country.

“This arrest will no doubt have a favourable influence on the stabilisation and internal security of Iraq,” Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Foreign Minister Louis Michel said in a statement.

SOUTH AFRICA: The government of South Africa noted the capture of Saddam Hussein, but without expressing a view in a statement issued to the media.

“The South African government has noted developments regarding the capture of Saddam Hussein by the coalition forces. The South African government has, since the launch of the war against Iraq, avoided commenting on the operational details and developments thereof,” its foreign affairs department said.

—Agencies