Iraqis Protest for Release of Bush Shoe Attacker

An Iraqi government official said on Tuesday the journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush has been handed over to the Iraqi military command in Baghdad.

A wave of support streamed in on Monday for the now famous "shoe thrower", Iraqi journalist Muntadar Al Zaidi who heaved both his shoes on Sunday at US President George W. Bush.

"I received a wave of support from human rights groups and journalist associations, such as Reporters Without Borders," Dr Abdul Hussain Sha'aban, managing director of Al Baghdadiya, told Gulf News.

His family told the AP that over time, he came to hate both the US military occupation and what he views as Iran's "moral" occupation too.

The Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate said Al Zaidi's "far from professional" and irresponsible conduct had placed it in an "embarrassing and critical" situation. Nevertheless, it called on Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to release him for humanitarian reasons.

"It was the throw of the century. I believe Bush deserves what happened to him because he has not kept his promises to Iraqis," said Baghdad resident Abu Hussain, 48.

He would be tried on charges of insulting the Iraqi state, said the prime minister's media adviser, Yasin Majeed.

Arabs across the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular US president.

Also, Arab bloggers had a field day after the "shoe heard around the world" incident.

"Today is the day that 'Angry Arab' has been preparing itself for 3 years and finally it happened" remarked one blog.

It went on to joke, "please, please one shoe at a time"

Damascus was abuzz with the news; almost as if the entire city was watching a football match, and hurt that their favorite team, had missed a goal, a Gulf News correspondent reported.

"Al Zaidi did what Arab leaders failed to do," said Ghazi Abu Baker, a 55-year-old shopkeeper in the West Bank town of Jenin. "This journalist should be elected president of Iraq for what he has done."

On a more serious note, colleagues of the Iraqi journalist said they are worried about him as they have yet to hear news about him.

"They confiscated his mobile, I tried calling him but no answer. No one knows where he is now," Dr. Abdul Hussain Shaaban, managing director of Al Baghdadiya Satellite TV, told Gulf News.

Shaaban, who is also a human rights activists, said he was approached by several Arab laywers wanting to defend Al Zaidi and many journalist associations, like Reporters Without Borders have expressed concern.

Saddam Hussain's former lawyer, Khalil Al Dulaimi, said on Monday that he was forming a team to defend Al Zaidi.

"It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed two million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dulaimi. "Zaidi should be released immediately."

"This is a gift from the Iraqis, this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" Al Zaidi shouted just before he chucked his shoes at the US president during the live broadcast of the press conference.

"This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" Al Zaidi shouted as he hurled his other shoe.

Al Maliki's security crowded in on him, beating him relentlessly. Mohammed Taher, reporter from Afaq, a TV station close to the ruling government of Al Maliki, described Al Zaidi "crying like a girl."

"All I can report is that it is a size 10," Bush joked, as other Iraqi journalists reportedly rushed to apologise for Al Zaidi's actions.

Al Zaidi's act was not spontaneous but planned, according to colleagues.

"Al Zaidi was kidnapped last year by an unknown militia and until now no one knows who was responsible. He was not only protesting from a general anti-US point of view, but a personal one," Al Shaaban said.

Al Shaaban declined to comment whether he supported Al Zaidi's actions. He simply emphasised that it symbolized the "catastrophe of the American government".

Al Shaaban said Al Zaidi has demonstrated what people around the world have been feeling for years about the Bush administration.

"Using shoes is just the Iraqi way," he joked.

Keywords : George W. Bush shoe attack;Zaidi attack on Bush;Shoe attack incident;Bush and the shoe;international day for shoes.

Sources : www.iraqupdates.com