IRAQ/WEST BANK/EGYPT: RESIDENTS OF BAGHDAD, RAMALLAH AND CAIRO WATCH U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH BEING INTERVIEWED ON ARAB TELEVISION

Record ID: 566249

  • Title: IRAQ/WEST BANK/EGYPT: RESIDENTS OF BAGHDAD, RAMALLAH AND CAIRO WATCH U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH BEING INTERVIEWED ON ARAB TELEVISION
  • Date: 5th May 2004
  • Summary: (EU) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MAY 5, 2004)(REUTERS) 1. SLV/SV/CU EXTERIOR OF TEA SHOP IN BAGHDAD; PEOPLE WATCHING U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH'S SPEECH ON TELEVISION; PEOPLE AT TEA SHOP SMOKING WATER-PIPES (5 SHOTS) 0.27 2. MCU (Arabic) HISHAM DAWOOD, SAYING "The Iraqi people do not trust statement by any American whether he is the American president or a soldier. They have no credibility. The speech of the U.S. president like all other American statement is but words." 0.44 3. SLV MEN PLAYING CARDS 0.50 (U6) RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (MAY 5, 2004) (REUTERS) 4. SV/MCU/CU PALESTINIANS SITTING IN A CAFE WATCHING U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH'S INTERVIEW ON AL ARABIYA CHANNEL; TELEVISION MONITOR SHOWING AL ARABIYA'S INTERVIEW WITH BUSH (3 SHOTS) 1.07 5. MCU (Arabic) NAEL OMARI, PALESTINIAN RESIDENT OF RAMALLAH, SAYING "The whole world knows that (U.S. President George W.) Bush and (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon are Nazis it was obvious that they were going to do these things to the detainees. Israel does the same thing in its jails but it hides behind the United States." 1.26 6. SV/CU PALESTINIANS PLAYING CARD GAMES IN CAFE (2 SHOTS) 1.38 7. MCU (Arabic) RAMI SALAMEH, PALESTINIAN FROM RAMALLAH, SAYING "He (Bush) thinks that he can fool us by apologising for what had happened. The Nazis also apologised for what they had done. So what happened happened and that is all. These are war crimes and they should be punished for committing them. Human rights groups must get involved even if they are dealing with the United States and they must respond strongly to these actions. The United States claims to be a democracy but as we saw on television, these things are happening not only in Abu Ghraib prison but probably also in the prison in Guantanamo Bay." 2.17 8. CU/SV PALESTINIANS SITTING IN CAFE (2 SHOTS) 2.29 (U6) CAIRO, EGYPT (MAY 5, 2004) (REUTERS) 9. SLV/SV/CU PEOPLE IN CAFE WATCHING BUSH INTERVIEW; PEOPLE DISCUSSING SPEECH; ONE OF THE PEOPLE LOOKING AT A NEWSPAPER WITH PHOTOS OF ALLEGED ABUSE OF IRAQI PRISONERS (4 SHOTS) 3.07 10. MCU (Arabic) BAHER ATAT IBRAHIM, 66-YEARS OLD, SAYING "The apology is not enough. What is supposed to be done to prove that he is a good man is to leave Iraq." 3.14 11. SV MEN SITTING IN CAFE 3.23 12. MCU (Arabic) SOBHI ABEL KHADER, TAILER, 40-YEARS OLD, SAYING "He (Bush) made all the people hate the American people. Bush's rule made all people hate the American people." 3.37 13. PAN/SV/SLV PEOPLE SITTING IN THE CAFE (4 SHOTS) 4.01 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 20th May 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ CAIRO, EGYPT
  • City:
  • Country: West Bank West Bank Egypt Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA3ODEBDWBUP8MGRUIMEU4RYWY9
  • Story Text: Residents of Baghdad, Ramallah and Cairo watch U.S.

    President George W. Bush being interviewed on Arab television.



    Across the Arab world, U.S. President Bush's comments on
    Arabic news channels on Wednesday (May 5, 2004) were
    greeted with scepticism as he pledged that soldiers who
    abused Iraqi prisoners would be punished.

    In Baghdad, Hisham Dawood said:"The Iraqi people do not
    trust statement by any American whether he is the American
    president or a soldier. They have no credibility. The
    speech of the U.S. president like all other American
    statement is but words."
    Bush sought to repair America's image among Iraqis by
    making a personal pledge on Arab television that soldiers
    who murdered and abused Iraqi prisoners would be punished.

    "In a democracy everything is not perfect. Mistakes are
    made. But in a democracy as well those mistakes will be
    investigated and people will be brought to justice," he
    told the U.S.-funded Alhurra channel.

    He also spoke to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya and called the
    abuse "abhorrent."
    "It's a matter that reflects badly on my country. Our
    citizens in America are appalled by what they saw, just
    like people in the Middle East are appalled," he said.

    "The whole world knows that (U.S. President George W.)
    Bush and (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon are Nazis
    it was obvious that they were going to do these things to
    the detainees. Israel does the same thing in its jails but
    it hides behind the United States" said Nael Omari, a
    Palestinian living in Ramallah.

    Others said that human rights groups should get
    involved as an apology for such abuses was not enough.

    "He thinks that he (Bush) can fool us by apologising
    for what had happened. The Nazis also apologised for what
    they had done. So what happened happened and that is all.

    These are war crimes and they should be punished for
    committing them. Human rights groups must get involved even
    if they are dealing with the United States and they must
    respond strongly to these actions. The United States claims
    to be a democracy but as we saw on television, these things
    are happening not only in Abu Ghraib prison but probably
    also in the prison in Guantanamo Bay" said Rami Salamah in
    Ramallah.

    In Cairo, Baher Atat Ibrahim said: "The apology is not
    enough. What is supposed to be done to prove that he is
    good man is to leave Iraq."
    A week after pictures were published of grinning
    soldiers abusing naked Iraqis at a prison once used by
    Saddam Hussein's torturers, the U.S. army revealed that 25
    prisoners have died in Iraq and Afghanistan in U.S.

    custody, including two Iraqi prisoners murdered by
    Americans and one ruled a justifiable homicide.

    Twelve of the prisoners were found to have died by
    natural or undetermined causes and 10 are still being
    investigated. The CIA also said on Wednesday it was
    investigating the deaths of three prisoners who were
    interrogated by agency personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan
    but it did not say if these three deaths were among the 25
    already revealed by the Army.



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