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Bush is given Papal lecture on Iraq
By Kate Connolly in Rome and Julius Strauss in Baghdad
(Filed: 05/06/2004)
The Pope sharply rebuked President George W Bush yesterday over his policy in Iraq as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Rome to demonstrate against the presidential visit.
Speaking from an ornate wheelchair in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, with Mr Bush sitting stern-faced to his right, the Pope said that the president was making his 36-hour visit at a time when there was "great concern" over the instability of the Middle East.
The Pope has been a harsh critic of President Bush
During the 15-minute audience, the Pope condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners as "deplorable" and emphasised that the situation in Iraq had to be "normalised as quickly as possible".
The blunt message was the price Mr Bush paid for being seen next to one of the world's greatest moral authorities - and a harsh critic of the Iraq war - only months before the presidential election.
In a thinly-veiled reference to the abuse of prisoners by American soldiers, the Pope said in a shaky voice but fluent English: "In the past few weeks other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civil and religious conscience of all and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values."
He said that without such a commitment "neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome".
He added: "It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalised as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations . . . to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty in conditions of security for all its people."
The Pope's body shook as he spoke in a thin, almost inaudible voice, indicating his battle with Parkinson's disease. At the end of the audience, Mr Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award to a civilian granted by the United States.
Mr Bush praised the Pope for his "moral conviction" and reaffirmed his belief that the war in Iraq was justified because "there are times when war is necessary".
As the two men met for the third time, an estimated 30,000 protesters marched through Rome.
Police and demonstrators clashed at Piazza Venezia, the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Some of them threw Molotov cocktails at security forces, who responded by firing teargas.
On Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in the south east of the city, demonstrators chanted "Liberate Rome from Bush" and waved American flags daubed with swastikas.
Mr Bush, who is due in France today to commemorate D-Day, was in Rome primarily to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Italy from the Nazis by allied troops.
Before the visit, Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, who is due to meet the president today, asked Italians to remember that Mr Bush was a "real human being" who felt "real pain" over the deaths in Iraq.
But public opinion in Italy mirrors the position of the Pope. Twenty Italians have been killed in Iraq since November and that has increased resistance to the support offered to Washington by Mr Berlusconi, who has sent 3,000 troops to Iraq.
An Italian civilian contractor was murdered in April and three of his colleagues are still being held hostage. Their kidnappers demanded this week that Italians should turn out to protest against Mr Bush's visit.
America suffered more casualties of its own yesterday when four soldiers were killed and five wounded after their convoy was ambushed in Baghdad. The deaths brought to 600 the number of Americans killed in action since the invasion.
Days of clashes between Moqtada al-Sadr's fighters and American armour came to an end in the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Kufa after Shia leaders, including Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, negotiated a ceasefire.
A similar deal a week ago broke down after Sadr's men refused to pull back as agreed and the Americans sent armoured patrols into Kufa.
The coalition reported that Iraqi police had captured an aide of Abu Mussab Zarqawi, the regional al-Qa'eda leader believed to be behind many of the attacks on American forces in Iraq.
Last night Britain and America were due to present a revised United Nations resolution "blessing" the new Iraqi government. But diplomats said that a vote was unlikely until next week.
They said a further draft was probable in the coming days because America, Britain and the Iraqi government had not yet reached final agreement over how the United States-led forces would be controlled.
British officials were trying to put in "positive language" the notion that Iraqi leaders would have a veto over major military operations - something America has so far rejected. Diplomatic sources said the most recent draft made clear that the interim government would have the absolute right to ask foreign forces to leave, even though it supposedly would not take decisions affecting the country's long-term future until an elected government took over next year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=K4YWA3MHWCAJ3QFIQMGCM54AVCBQUJVC?xml=/news/2004/06/05/wbush05.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/05/ixnewstop.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=53187
By Kate Connolly in Rome and Julius Strauss in Baghdad
(Filed: 05/06/2004)
The Pope sharply rebuked President George W Bush yesterday over his policy in Iraq as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Rome to demonstrate against the presidential visit.
Speaking from an ornate wheelchair in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, with Mr Bush sitting stern-faced to his right, the Pope said that the president was making his 36-hour visit at a time when there was "great concern" over the instability of the Middle East.
The Pope has been a harsh critic of President Bush
During the 15-minute audience, the Pope condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners as "deplorable" and emphasised that the situation in Iraq had to be "normalised as quickly as possible".
The blunt message was the price Mr Bush paid for being seen next to one of the world's greatest moral authorities - and a harsh critic of the Iraq war - only months before the presidential election.
In a thinly-veiled reference to the abuse of prisoners by American soldiers, the Pope said in a shaky voice but fluent English: "In the past few weeks other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civil and religious conscience of all and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values."
He said that without such a commitment "neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome".
He added: "It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalised as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations . . . to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty in conditions of security for all its people."
The Pope's body shook as he spoke in a thin, almost inaudible voice, indicating his battle with Parkinson's disease. At the end of the audience, Mr Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award to a civilian granted by the United States.
Mr Bush praised the Pope for his "moral conviction" and reaffirmed his belief that the war in Iraq was justified because "there are times when war is necessary".
As the two men met for the third time, an estimated 30,000 protesters marched through Rome.
Police and demonstrators clashed at Piazza Venezia, the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Some of them threw Molotov cocktails at security forces, who responded by firing teargas.
On Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in the south east of the city, demonstrators chanted "Liberate Rome from Bush" and waved American flags daubed with swastikas.
Mr Bush, who is due in France today to commemorate D-Day, was in Rome primarily to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Italy from the Nazis by allied troops.
Before the visit, Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, who is due to meet the president today, asked Italians to remember that Mr Bush was a "real human being" who felt "real pain" over the deaths in Iraq.
But public opinion in Italy mirrors the position of the Pope. Twenty Italians have been killed in Iraq since November and that has increased resistance to the support offered to Washington by Mr Berlusconi, who has sent 3,000 troops to Iraq.
An Italian civilian contractor was murdered in April and three of his colleagues are still being held hostage. Their kidnappers demanded this week that Italians should turn out to protest against Mr Bush's visit.
America suffered more casualties of its own yesterday when four soldiers were killed and five wounded after their convoy was ambushed in Baghdad. The deaths brought to 600 the number of Americans killed in action since the invasion.
Days of clashes between Moqtada al-Sadr's fighters and American armour came to an end in the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Kufa after Shia leaders, including Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, negotiated a ceasefire.
A similar deal a week ago broke down after Sadr's men refused to pull back as agreed and the Americans sent armoured patrols into Kufa.
The coalition reported that Iraqi police had captured an aide of Abu Mussab Zarqawi, the regional al-Qa'eda leader believed to be behind many of the attacks on American forces in Iraq.
Last night Britain and America were due to present a revised United Nations resolution "blessing" the new Iraqi government. But diplomats said that a vote was unlikely until next week.
They said a further draft was probable in the coming days because America, Britain and the Iraqi government had not yet reached final agreement over how the United States-led forces would be controlled.
British officials were trying to put in "positive language" the notion that Iraqi leaders would have a veto over major military operations - something America has so far rejected. Diplomatic sources said the most recent draft made clear that the interim government would have the absolute right to ask foreign forces to leave, even though it supposedly would not take decisions affecting the country's long-term future until an elected government took over next year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=K4YWA3MHWCAJ3QFIQMGCM54AVCBQUJVC?xml=/news/2004/06/05/wbush05.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/05/ixnewstop.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=53187
