The Hindu Business Line : Barbarism in Iraq

PHOTOGRAPHS of horrible torture inflicted by the units of the US Army on Iraqi prisoners detained in the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, and the accompanying heart-rending descriptions, have left the people of the world in a state of shock. The US President, Mr George W. Bush, has "shared" his disgust (with whom is unclear) and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, has been "appalled".

Now, The Mirror in the UK has come out with lurid accounts, along with horrifying pictures, of an Iraqi detainee being subjected to barbaric acts by the British troops.

The usual inquiries have been ordered, with the promise of meting out punishment to those found responsible. Whatever the outcome, what stands out is the bestial disposition which can think of such inhuman cruelties against fellow human beings. They become all the more gruesome when they are perpetrated by the supposedly well-trained and disciplined soldiers of civilised nations which have never tired of sanctimoniously lecturing to others on the sanctity of human rights.

There are two aspects of the abhorrent atrocities that are worthy of serious notice. According to The Guardian, the original sin was that of the Pentagon which had handed over interrogation and intelligence-gathering in Iraq to private contractors (CACI International and Titan Corporation) whose untrained hirelings reportedly instigated the soldiers to carry out the monstrosities.

The other disturbing commentary is by the Amnesty International. Based on its extensive research in Iraq, it affirms that "this is not an isolated incident. It is not enough for the US to react only (to) images (hitting) the television screens. There must be a fully independent, impartial and public investigation into all allegations of torture. Nothing less will suffice."

India too has faced accusations of its security forces indulging in human rights violations, mostly arising out of its punitive action against terrorists in Kashmir.

Incidents involving India's security forces pertain mainly to the use of excessive force and deaths caused by firing directed at innocent civilians often due to mistaken identity.

Though there can be no gradations in human rights abuses, and every type of violation detracting from the respect and dignity due to fellow human beings is equally loathsome, it must be said that there is no recorded instance of India's uniformed personnel having sunk to the degrading depths of the barbarism in Iraq.