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Ambassador Negroponte, accompanied by officers from the Embassy and the Embassy Regional Office in Hillah, visited the burial site of thousands of innocent victims of Saddam Hussein's armed and police forces on the outskirts of that city.
He was met and greeted by Sayyid Faqad Al-Qizwini, a Shiite Moslem cleric, who told the Ambassador of the suffering endured by local people, their determination to find and identify their loved ones once Saddam's regime was toppled, and how they have responded to the massacres. In response to Sayyid Al-Qizwini's moving words, the Ambassador read the following statement:
I have come here today to honor the dead, to offer my condolences to their loved ones, and to reaffirm America's commitment to the cause of justice, freedom and respect for human rights.
The brutality that this site commemorates is a constant reminder that the former regime sowed the seeds of its overthrow throughout this ancient land. No one can abuse humanity and remain unpunished. No one is above the moral order of right and wrong, good and evil.
Iraq's future now lies in the hands of free men and women who need not fear tyranny. It is a bright future, rich with hope.
We share the grief of those whose beloved lie in this soil. Our partnership and friendship is offered to all Iraqis with the determination that such terrible deeds will never occur again.
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