Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein on Thursday sponsored a collective marriage of 361 couples in Baghdad who claimed they could not afford to get married because of the high cost of ceremonies attributed to United Nations sanctions against the country.
The mass marriage ceremony was organized by the Union of Iraqi Youth (UIY), led by the elder son of the Iraqi leader, Uday Saddam Hussein, in an upscale club by the Tigris river among many guests, an AFP correspondent said.
"The ceremony was sponsored by (President) Saddam Hussein and supervised by Uday to lighten the financial load that weighs upon Iraqi youth because of the embargo, " a UIY representative told the news agency. The couples were entertained by famous Iraqi singers, and were given such presents as clothes, money, and three nights in a luxury hotel, UIY officials claimed. (Albawaba.com)
