Posted on 08/27/2004 9:58:34 AM PDT by NYer
ROME (AP) _ Pope John Paul II condemned the reported killing of an Italian hostage, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday vowed Italian troops would not leave Iraq, denouncing the slaying as an act that brings ``us back to the dark ages of barbarity.''
At the Olympics in Athens, Greece, both Iraqi and Italian players were planning to wear black armbands on their uniforms during their bronze medal soccer match later Friday in honor of the murdered Italian journalist.
Late Thursday, the Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera reported that it had received images that appeared to show Baldoni's killing, but the station said it had declined to broadcast the footage out of sensitivity to its viewers. Al-Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout said Friday the images were still photos, rather than a video as earlier asserted. The Italian ambassador to Qatar, where the news station is based, saw one of the images and informed the Italian government.
The pope issued a ``firm condemnation'' of the killing, saying he hoped that all ``understand the urgent need to reject violence'' in Iraq, the Vatican said. ``There are no words to describe this inhuman act that with one blow wipes out centuries of civilization to bring us back to the dark ages of barbarity,'' Berlusconi said in a statement.
The prime minister spoke of how Baldoni's children issued a plea on Wednesday on Al-Jazeera for their father's release, ``which unfortunately turned out to be useless because it was directed at people who evidently had no heart to listen.''
Berlusconi said Italy's stance in Iraq would not change. ``We will be faithful to the commitments taken with the Iraqi provisional government in the framework of U.N. decisions to give back peace and democracy to Iraq.'' Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini also said Italy would maintain its troop presence in Iraq.
Berlusconi's decision to back President Bush in Iraq defied public opinion in Italy. Before the conflict began, 1 million people marched through the streets of Rome against the war _ one of Europe's biggest anti-war demonstrations.
Although Italian troops didn't fight in the war, they were sent in after the ouster of Saddam Hussein to help rebuild the country. At 3,000, they are the third-largest contingent in Iraq. ``We are wondering how many more deaths are necessary before we recognize this war was a tragic mistake,'' Greens leader Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said. The center-left opposition has opposed the war. In April, four Italians working as private security guards in Iraq were kidnapped, and one was executed. Twenty Italians also died in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, where the Italian troops are based. One of them died in combat in May, while the other 19 were killed in a bombing in November.
Italy said it would ask the International Olympic Committee for permission for each of its teams in competition Friday to wear a black sign of mourning on their uniforms in honor of Baldoni. Besides the soccer team, three other men's teams were competing for Italy on Friday in water polo, volleyball and basketball. ``We hope the pain will unite us,'' Italian Olympic Committee spokesman Massimo Fabricini said.
Baldoni disappeared last week. He apparently was shown in the hands of extremists in Iraq on video footage broadcast Tuesday by Al-Jazeera. In the video, a militant group calling itself ``The Islamic Army in Iraq,'' did not threaten Baldoni directly but said it could not guarantee his safety unless Italy announced within 48 hours that it would withdraw its troops from Iraq. The 48 hours expired Thursday.
Friends and associates described Baldoni as an optimistic man with much curiosity, a sense of adventure and a keen sense of irony. Between 2001 and 2003 he traveled to Colombia, where he spent about three months. During his second trip, he was kidnapped for a few hours by guerrilla fighters. ``Some people think I am some sort of a Rambo who loves strong emotions and seeing people die,'' he once said, according to Rome's La Repubblica newspaper. ``I am miles away from that mentality. I am a convinced pacifist and for that reason I am curious to understand what make normal people brandish a gun.''
AP-ES-08-27-04 1243EDT
My sympathies for the Italian people.
Well, tragically, he discovered the answer to his question. . .no doubt.
Are we to assume 'how' he died? Noticed the media had not disclosed any specifics . . .that he was 'killed'. . .or maybe I just missed it. (I am assuming from this article that he was be-headed. . .or worse?)
Prayers
The same mindset; the same failure to grasp an enemy reality here that pacifist Baldoni perhaps finally understood; after it was too late.
Never mind. . .re-read it; 'one blow' suffices as an explanation.
Funny, I bet his parents didn't ask that question about the war liberating them from Mussolini and Hitler...
A salute to Berlusconi for his commitment in the face of adversity! My prayers to the family and to Italy. Italy - our friends and ally. We stand beside you during your time of grief.
I asked the same question on another threat. How did he die? Beheaded, shot, stabbed, skinned alive, what?
As long as you don't count ending fascism, nazism and communism.
(I obviously don't mean YOU, RB)
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