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'Saddam' urges Iraqis to fight on

CAIRO May 7. In a new audiotape — the first allegedly made by Saddam Hussein since U.S.-led forces ousted his regime — the deposed Iraqi leader urges his countrymen to fight foreign occupation.

The Sydney Morning Herald said it received the 14-minute tape from two men in Baghdad on Monday who said they were trying to get it to Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya, two Arab satellite television channels.

There was no way to confirm if the tired-sounding voice on the tape was that of Mr. Hussein, although the accent and phrasing were akin to that of the ousted leader.

``Through this secret means I am talking to you from inside great Iraq and I say to you, the main task for you, Arab and Kurd, Shiite and Sunni, Muslim and Christian and the whole Iraqi people of all religions, your main task is to kick the enemy out from our country,'' the speaker said.

By way of establishing that the recording was made recently, the voice on the tape noted some Iraqis had celebrated Saddam's 66th birthday on April 28 even though he was not in power. The speaker referred to Mr. Hussein in the third person, a practice common in Arabic.

``It was an Iraqi decision (to celebrate), because they consider Saddam Hussein as a brother or as a father to them. And this is just to express of their free will that nobody forced them to do it or to live in any way against their will. It is their true attitude toward Saddam Hussein,'' the speaker said.

— AP

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