Muslim papers rage at Iraq 'abuse'

Images from the tape were broadcast in the Middle East

Newspapers in the Middle East continue to react angrily to pictures appearing to show British troops abusing Iraqi civilians, with one commentator drawing parallels with the prisoner-abuse scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail.

Elsewhere in the Muslim world, an Indonesian commentary uses the same image and a Pakistani paper demands a British government apology.

ALI QASIM IN SYRIA'S AL-THAWRAH

The scandals of torture in Iraq are returning to TV screens and newspaper headlines... It is possible that the British prime minister's statement recalls the statements of American officials after the Abu Ghraib scandals and that his promise to launch an investigation will be no better than the investigation carried out by the Americans.

EDITORIAL IN EGYPT'S AL-JUMHURIYAH

It seems that the Anglo-American occupation forces need to build more detention camps and prisons in which the ugliest crimes against humanity are practised so that they can carry out their mission to impose their democratic lessons on the Iraqis, who do not want to learn and are resisting by all means this savage occupation of their country.

NAWWAF ABD-AL-HAJA IN JORDAN'S AL-DUSTUR

The published pictures of British soldiers... demonstrate the extent of the black grudge harboured by those occupiers against our kinsfolk in Iraq.

ALI TU'AYMAT IN QATAR'S AL-WATAN

The videotape which shows British soldiers occupying Iraq savagely attacking unarmed Iraqi youngsters... reveals the scale of the lie which they have used to humiliate Iraq's young people... It is clear that this cowardly act is not an individual or isolated case.

AHMAD DAHBUR IN PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH

Let us pray that the world will not forget the pictures of British soldiers heavily beating, kicking and slapping teenage Iraqi boys. This happened not a century ago but barely 48 hours ago.

INDONESIA'S JAWA POS

It turns out British and US troops have treated prisoners of war in exactly the same way... The scandals of Abu Ghraib I and II have, in principle, shown that big countries such as the US and Britain always do as they please on any battlefield. The moral statements in the name of democracy that the two countries have delivered on various occasions are merely persuasive propaganda to justify their brutal political practices towards other, weak countries.

PAKISTAN'S MASHRIQ

It is now the duty of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to lodge a strong protest against this brutality, and it would be better for the UK government to confess its troops' excesses and apologise to the Iraqi people, in addition to severely punishing the soldiers responsible.

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