By Paul Garwood
The Associated Press, 25 January 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - For some Iraqis it's justice at work. Others slam it as just another slap across their occupied nation's face. And to a few, it is pure entertainment.
Saddam Hussein's on-again, off-again trial has taken on an almost surreal character, and the range of public reaction highlights Iraq's deep divides.
The latest hiccup in a trial already marred by the killings of defense lawyers and courtroom brawls was Tuesday's failure to resume hearings after a one-month break. Disputes over replacements for the top two judges and absent witnesses were cited as the reasons the proceedings had to be put off until Sunday.
Many Iraqis have reacted predictably to the trial, which opened Oct. 19 but has had only seven sessions. Shiite Muslims and Kurds, severely oppressed during Saddam's reign, praised the court or demanded a swifter form of justice — execution.
"I am sure that God's will is all powerful and Saddam will get his punishment despite all these delays," said Shiite shop owner Najim Bilal al-Khafaji, 29, in the southern town of Najaf.
Another Najaf native, 37-year-old Shiite Abid Zain, described the trial as fair and urged Iraqis to be patient.
"Although Saddam and his regime were the toughest criminals in history, they are tried in such a democratic way that makes the people of the world respect the Iraqi people more than before," Zain said.
In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad, die-hard supporters criticized the tribunal as a U.S.-orchestrated farce.
"This trial should be abandoned until a legitimate government is formed to ensure the trial's decisions are fair," said Tarek Jassim al-Amawy, a 68-year-old Sunni Muslim court employee.
But in a sign the country may slowly be leaving behind three decades of war, police-state rule and sanctions, some Iraqis from Saddam's Sunni support-base praised the trial as necessary and just.
Even some Shiites questioned the ability of a U.S.-orchestrated court to fairly try a man many blame for directing mass killing of Shiites. Such cases include the 1982 slaughter of more than 140 Shiites in the northern city of Dujail, the focus of the current case against Saddam and his seven co-defendants.
"Saddam's trial is illegitimate because it is taking place under the American occupation, is subject to so many different authorities and the departure of its chief judge shows the court has no independence," said Shiite government employee Sabah Ibrahim al-Timimi.
Outside Iraq, political science professor Abdul Khaleq Abdullah in the United Arab Emirates said the chaotic atmosphere surrounding the trial is a positive sign of a maturing Iraqi society.
"They (Iraqi authorities) are going through some experimentation. You have to understand that this is not going to be easy, to go public and confront a dictator," he said. "There is procedure and they have to learn a few things. People should be a little sympathetic."
But in Jordan, political analyst Nidal Mansour said the resignation of the chief judge is casting doubt on the trial's legitimacy.
"If the government and the occupation authority don't provide a fair trial to Saddam Hussein and continue to interfere in the proceedings, then they'd better stop the trial or move it to another country that could provide necessary legal guarantees and protection," Mansour said.
To many Iraqis, the trial rates low in importance when compared to the difficulties posed by roadside bombs, kidnappings, sectarian slayings and the foreign military occupation.
The trial's slow pace, and the leniency shown Saddam by former chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, have not been popular viewing with many Iraqis.
"I prefer to watch Rotana," said 22-year-old Shiraz Khaled, Kurdish student of Salahuddin University in the northern city of Irbil, referring to an Arab satellite broadcaster.
Fellow student Perjin Taha, 20, said she's watched the trial on TV a few times and didn't like it. "It's too slow. The longer it takes, the longer Saddam will live," she said.
But courtroom outbursts by Saddam and his co-defendants and the unprecedented testimony against the country's former leader makes great viewing for some Iraqis.
"The trial has become an enthralling movie because it is full of surprises," said Haider Moussa, a 34-year-old Shiite in Baghdad. "The way the trial is going is shocking, because we don't know why those in charge appoint one judge one day and reject him the next."
Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Bushra Juhi in Baghdad, Scheherezade Faramarzi in Irbil, Shafika Mattar in Amman, Jordan, and Lara Sukhtian in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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Citation: Paul Garwood. "Saddam Trial Divides Iraqis," The Associated Press, 25 January 2006.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_trial
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