AMMAN, 12 May 2004 — Parliament speakers of eight countries surrounding Iraq meet here today to look into ways for ending the tragic situation in Iraq. Many expect the conference to be overshadowed by the reports on the abuses of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of the US-led coalition troops.
“Though the meeting was scheduled before the revelation of the abuses, we expect the parliamentarians to condemn the serious violations of human rights in Iraq and come up with appropriate recommendations,” a Jordanian parliamentary source said.
Speakers of legislatures in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Bahrain and Egypt will attend the conference, organizers said.
Bahrain will attend in its capacity as current chairman of the Arab summit, while Egypt takes part in lieu of being chairman of the Euro-Med Parliament, they added.
Also attending the two-day meeting are representatives for several world organizations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations.
Speaker of the Jordanian House of Representatives Abdul Hadi Majali indicated that the serious human rights abuses committed by US and British soldiers against Iraqi prisoners would be taken up by the parliamentarians.
“The scandal of torturing Iraqi prisoners will have far-reaching repercussions throughout the world,” he said.
