Government of Nepal condemns the execution of Saddam

Kathmandu, Dec 30 (UNI) The Nepalese government has expressed opposition to the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was executed this morning in Baghdad.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said capital punishment should be abolished from the world.

''The death penalty is against human civilisation,''he said.

Nepal abolished death penalty after the success of popular movement in 1990.

''Regardless of the crime, handing someone the death penalty is not a good thing at all. It should be abolished from the world,'' Mr Koirala was quoted by local media as saying after the execution.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister KP Sharma Oli described the execution as an ''act against humanity.'' Nepal will always be against the notion of the death sentence as a form of punishment, he told Kantipur online.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) also flayed the execution of the deposed Iraqi President.

Issuing a statement CPN-M spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said, ''The news of the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has drawn the grave attention of the party.'' UNI XC KR VC2142