Saddam's son goes public against father's government

NICOSIA — The son of President Saddam Hussein has charged his father's government with buying commodities from Israel. The public challenge to the regime and Saddam's failure to appear at at a ceremony marking Iraq's Army Day have kept alive uncertainty about Saddam's health.

Uday Hussein, the eldest son of the president, submitted a memorandum to the Iraqi National Council stating that Israeli and Jewish-owned companies in the West are using Russian firms as fronts to sell Iraq a range of goods under the United Nations oil-for-food program. They were said to include food, soaps and beauty products.

Uday blamed the Iraqi Trade Ministry for allowing the import of Israeli goods. The memorandum was published in Uday's Babel daily.

"Is this a correct policy?" Uday asked in the memorandum.

Saddam was absent when the entire Iraqi leadership gathered on Saturday to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Baghdad to mark Iraq's Army Day. Instead, Saddam appeared later on television and recalled the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf war.

"We are celebrating and honoring the army of the glorious and the Immortal Mother of All Battles," Saddam said, referring to the two wars.

Western monitors said Saddam's televised appearance seemed recorded and did not refer to recent events in his country.

Iraqi opposition sources assert that Saddam collapsed at a Dec. 31 military parade and has been hospitalized. Since then, Saddam has been shown three times on television.

In London, the Sunday Times reported that Saddam has established a new command headquarters for a military force to fight Israel. The newspaper said the Hammurabi tank division of the elite Republican Guard has been moved to a new headquarters west of Baghdad.

Saddam's son, who is regarded by critics as being mentally unbalanced, said the government has taken measures to tighten procedures and demand proof of the origin of supplies that enter Iraq. But he said the measures taken so far have been insufficient.

The memorandum was published on Thursday amid reports that Saddam was ill. The regime in Baghdad has dismissed these reports and has televised a meeting between Saddam and visiting Egyptian entertainers. The footage shows a healthy-looking Iraqi president chatting and smoking a cigar.

In the appearance, Saddam again threatened war against Israel. "The Iraqi people are dying to fight," he said. "And it's not just Saddam Hussein but seven million Iraqis who have volunteered, who want to liberate Palestine. The Iraqi people are ready to fight the Americans and those who fight alongside the Americans. They in Israel are unable to resist the Arabs."

But Iraqi opposition sources in Damascus insisted that Saddam remains in a Baghdad hospital. The sources said Saddam's authority has already been assumed by Uday and his younger brother, Kusay.