2 Iraqi Ambassadors Defect, Condemn ‘Reign of Terror’

Two defecting Iraqi ambassadors appeared here Tuesday and condemned President Saddam Hussein’s “reign of terror and misery,” calling on their countrymen to unite against his regime.

The two diplomats, who were granted permission to stay in Britain at least temporarily, are Hisham Shawi, 62, an Oxford graduate who was ambassador to Canada when he defected, and Hamed Jubouri, 61, who said he retired last week as Iraq’s ambassador to Tunisia.

At a news conference organized by the Iraqi National Congress, which represents opposition groups in the West, the two ambassadors said they came to Britain because the most coherent Iraqi opposition is based here.

“Today,” said Shawi, “Iraq suffers from a reign of terror and misery unprecedented in its long history. It has no laws, no freedoms. Citizens do not enjoy even the most rudimentary of human rights. It is the law of the jungle.”

He said Iraq has become a vast police state and that he realized his life was in danger because he was a “soldier” for the cause.

Shawi said he had placed the cash under his control at Iraq’s embassy in Ottawa in a trust fund, and “this money will be returned to my country when its age of tyranny has passed.”

Jubouri said the Iraqi regime has dragged the country into two destructive wars without anticipating the consequences.

“In record time,” he said, “in what seemed like a frightening nightmare, it destroyed a once strong and prosperous country, leaving it morally and financially bankrupt, isolated from its people, its Arab neighbors and the international community.”

Shawi said he felt compelled to remain at his post during the Gulf War, hoping afterward that the regime “would learn, retract and take the initiative to rectify matters.”

“But the fleeting dream was soon dispelled,” he continued, “and it was clear that the present regime in Iraq admits no mistake and feels no responsibility.”

When word of the diplomats’ arrival first circulated late Monday, some sources speculated that they might have significant information about Iraqi arms manufacturing plans.

But both ambassadors said Tuesday that they have spent recent years abroad and have no knowledge of Iraq’s attempts to rebuild its military strength.