RIYADH, 14 May 2004 — The UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia has apologized to the people of Iraq and the Kingdom for any mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of British soldiers.
“We are investigating all such allegations against British troops, and those found responsible could face severe sentences,” Sherard Cowper-Coles said at a press conference coinciding with the first anniversary of the May 12, 2003 attacks on residential compounds that left 34 people dead.
He said all of the allegations were being investigated, including the question of whether photographs in the Daily Mirror showing soldiers abusing prisoners were genuine.
Although British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the UK’s Parliament the pictures were “almost certainly fake”, an investigation is still in progress into the Mirror report.
He said experience showed that strong-arm tactics do not work. “Perhaps more importantly,” he said, “they alienate the local population whose hearts and minds you are trying to win.”
But the ambassador warned the actions “of probably a tiny minority” should not detract from “the challenges before the Arab world — challenges of human development, population growth, modernization and globalization.”
