Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Roland Huegunin-Benjamin
Aired April 19, 2003 - 12:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S.-led coalition's most wanted list in Iraq is shrinking. Another member of that list is now in American custody. CNN's Jim Clancy is with us now from Baghdad with more on the story. So how many cards are left, Jim? Who did they get?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a good 40 cards that are left, or more, 45 cards that are left, or I guess there's 50. There's 55 in all. They've gotten five of them, but this was an important find for them.
Hikmat al Azzawi was a man who was more or less the moneyman for President Saddam Hussein. Not only was he the former minister of finance, but he was also a former deputy prime minister. It is believed that he would know where some of the foreign bank accounts are located, also where money might be held within the country.
Remember, there was more than $600 million found by U.S. troops on patrol in a neighborhood of the Baath party. So it is a very significant find for them to get him. It is also significant for Baghdad's police force, because after all, they are the ones that took him into custody. Major Mark Stainbrook, who's a U.S. Marine that liaises with the Baghdad police had these comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. MARK STAINBROOK, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Basically, the senior arresting officer said that a tip had come in from a citizen that they had seen the deputy prime minister walking in a neighborhood. They went to investigate, checked the house nearby. I'm not sure if he was associated with the house previously or not. Knocked on the door, he answered. He was the only one there. There was no other family. It was not his house, and he gave no resistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, this, of course, builds up confidence not only for the police in themselves, but for the police with the United States military that is here. And perhaps a sign of that, AK-47s issued to some police officers today. That is not only to defend the police officers against well-armed looters, that's also so they can enforce the law on the streets of Baghdad. Many of the police said that one of the first things they would need would be to be armed, not only to gain some of the respect, if you will, of the looters, but also as a symbol of authority. They're also looking for those paychecks, which continue to elude them, but the U.S. says it is working on that front. Millions of dollars coming into the country to pay civil servants.
Now on the humanitarian front, we have been talking a lot about hospitals, and we've been talking a lot about some of the infrastructure problems that Baghdad suffers right now. Joining us to talk a little bit more about that is Roland Huegunin-Benjamin, spokesman for the ICRC here in Baghdad.
You've been working on infrastructure. What progress have you to report now?
ROLAND HUEGUNIN-BENJAMIN, ICRC: Well, we have had some progress on the water side. Now there is water on most taps in Baghdad. We have also started trucking water to some of the far distant suburbs that have been deprived for quite a few days. But when we solve one problem, we find ten others in such a situation where the infrastructure is totally collapsed.
We are now worried about the situation of the environment. Some of the water and the sewage treatment plants, I'm sorry, have been damaged, and they do need to be repaired very soon. We are going towards very hot temperatures in this region and we cannot go on without having proper sewage treatment being operated in the next days.
CLANCY: I want to talk a little bit about one mental hospital, a nightmare scene there. And the Red Cross, I know, has been working to try to rebuild it.
HUEGUNIN-BENJAMIN: Yes, this is called the El Rashad (ph) mental hospital. We had been working there for a long time, creating all kind of new openings, such as occupational therapy for the patients. We had a lot of equipment there, and it's been totally looted over a period of three days. The patients have been chased out by the looters. Some of them have been physically attacked.
And now we have sent two groups of engineers and contractors to rebuild as fast as possible. We have also sent water and medicine and food to replace what had been looted, because the poor people who were in that hospital only 400 have come back out of 1200 who have been lost in nature.
CLANCY: Roland Huegunin-Benjamin, thanks to you for being with us, and thanks to the Red Cross for the work that it's doing.
That's our report for now, from Baghdad, a city that is coming back on its feet. And you can see it today as you looked out on the streets, a lot more cars, the traffic terrible in some spots, but I think that many Iraqis for the first time getting out physically, seeing for themselves if relatives are all right. Back to you.
KOPPEL: There is a downside to having a well-organized city after all. Jim Clancy, thank you so much, joining us from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 19, 2003 - 12:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S.-led coalition's most wanted list in Iraq is shrinking. Another member of that list is now in American custody. CNN's Jim Clancy is with us now from Baghdad with more on the story. So how many cards are left, Jim? Who did they get?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a good 40 cards that are left, or more, 45 cards that are left, or I guess there's 50. There's 55 in all. They've gotten five of them, but this was an important find for them.
Hikmat al Azzawi was a man who was more or less the moneyman for President Saddam Hussein. Not only was he the former minister of finance, but he was also a former deputy prime minister. It is believed that he would know where some of the foreign bank accounts are located, also where money might be held within the country.
Remember, there was more than $600 million found by U.S. troops on patrol in a neighborhood of the Baath party. So it is a very significant find for them to get him. It is also significant for Baghdad's police force, because after all, they are the ones that took him into custody. Major Mark Stainbrook, who's a U.S. Marine that liaises with the Baghdad police had these comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. MARK STAINBROOK, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Basically, the senior arresting officer said that a tip had come in from a citizen that they had seen the deputy prime minister walking in a neighborhood. They went to investigate, checked the house nearby. I'm not sure if he was associated with the house previously or not. Knocked on the door, he answered. He was the only one there. There was no other family. It was not his house, and he gave no resistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, this, of course, builds up confidence not only for the police in themselves, but for the police with the United States military that is here. And perhaps a sign of that, AK-47s issued to some police officers today. That is not only to defend the police officers against well-armed looters, that's also so they can enforce the law on the streets of Baghdad. Many of the police said that one of the first things they would need would be to be armed, not only to gain some of the respect, if you will, of the looters, but also as a symbol of authority. They're also looking for those paychecks, which continue to elude them, but the U.S. says it is working on that front. Millions of dollars coming into the country to pay civil servants.
Now on the humanitarian front, we have been talking a lot about hospitals, and we've been talking a lot about some of the infrastructure problems that Baghdad suffers right now. Joining us to talk a little bit more about that is Roland Huegunin-Benjamin, spokesman for the ICRC here in Baghdad.
You've been working on infrastructure. What progress have you to report now?
ROLAND HUEGUNIN-BENJAMIN, ICRC: Well, we have had some progress on the water side. Now there is water on most taps in Baghdad. We have also started trucking water to some of the far distant suburbs that have been deprived for quite a few days. But when we solve one problem, we find ten others in such a situation where the infrastructure is totally collapsed.
We are now worried about the situation of the environment. Some of the water and the sewage treatment plants, I'm sorry, have been damaged, and they do need to be repaired very soon. We are going towards very hot temperatures in this region and we cannot go on without having proper sewage treatment being operated in the next days.
CLANCY: I want to talk a little bit about one mental hospital, a nightmare scene there. And the Red Cross, I know, has been working to try to rebuild it.
HUEGUNIN-BENJAMIN: Yes, this is called the El Rashad (ph) mental hospital. We had been working there for a long time, creating all kind of new openings, such as occupational therapy for the patients. We had a lot of equipment there, and it's been totally looted over a period of three days. The patients have been chased out by the looters. Some of them have been physically attacked.
And now we have sent two groups of engineers and contractors to rebuild as fast as possible. We have also sent water and medicine and food to replace what had been looted, because the poor people who were in that hospital only 400 have come back out of 1200 who have been lost in nature.
CLANCY: Roland Huegunin-Benjamin, thanks to you for being with us, and thanks to the Red Cross for the work that it's doing.
That's our report for now, from Baghdad, a city that is coming back on its feet. And you can see it today as you looked out on the streets, a lot more cars, the traffic terrible in some spots, but I think that many Iraqis for the first time getting out physically, seeing for themselves if relatives are all right. Back to you.
KOPPEL: There is a downside to having a well-organized city after all. Jim Clancy, thank you so much, joining us from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
