Election campaigning in Iraq is overshadowed by Saddam Hussein's trial, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad Few were surprised by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's declaration that he refused to attend trial over the 1982 killing of 148 Shia in Dujail. Since the trial resumed this week, Hussein has been complaining about his conditions in detention, about unfair treatment from the court, having had his notebooks withheld and not having enough time to prepare his case. By Tuesday, Saddam's patience was wearing thin. "I will not return," he shouted, after the court decided to convene again Wednesday. "I will not come to an unjust court! Go to hell!" he told the judges in an outburst. Yet under Iraqi law, a court can force a defendant to attend trial even if he is unwilling. Chief Judge Rizgar Mohamed Amin has shown considerable deference to the former president, tolerating frequent outbursts contrary to rules of procedure. The court has been hearing evidence this week from five witnesses -- two women among them -- who provided detailed accounts of torture inflicted upon them at the hands of state security forces following the attempted assassination of Saddam in Dujail in 1982. Testifying behind a screen and with her voice disguised, a woman witness, simply dubbed "witness A," went into detail of her ordeal. "My youth was destroyed," the woman said, while Saddam and his seven associates sat stone-faced and silent. Saddam's apparent decision not to attend the trial raises questions, particularly at a time when Iraq is one week away from the 15 December elections. With the cycle of violence claiming more lives -- at least 34 Iraqi policemen were killed in a suicide bombing on Tuesday in a police academy -- campaigning is underway at full force. Former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi has emerged as a key candidate. But Allawi, who is running for a parliamentary seat in Najaf, has also been under attack. Allawi's opponents are using all legal and illegal means to get rid of the man. Many Iraqis want to see Allawi back in power, but some find it hard to forget his endorsement of the US military campaign in Falluja last year. Allawi says he was attacked in the same place where Abdul-Majid Al-Khoei was assassinated on 14 April 2003. The attackers are believed to be followers of Moqtada Al-Sadr, for they reportedly chanted, "May God curse the Baathists. No, no, to Allawi". Sadr's group has repeatedly used this slogan in the past. Allawi has slammed the interim government of Ibrahim Al-Jaafari in his campaign. In retaliation, thousands of posters appeared, bearing photos of Allawi, Saddam and Sharon along with the words, "do you want to vote for the criminals?" Allawi's opponents have torn his posters from the walls or covered them with black paint. Three of Allawi's campaign workers have been killed. Allawi has complained to the UN through its representative in Iraq, Ashraf Qadi, but this didn't stop the march of Iraq's new democracy, it seems. Pharmacist Inas Mohamed, who works in a hospital that receives dozens of victims of violence everyday, told Al-Ahram Weekly that, "candidates have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on millions of posters, neon signs and murals. This happened in a country where 20 per cent of the population lives under the poverty line and 30 per cent live on it. This money could have bought much needed medicine and emergency equipment. Many of the wounded die because of the scarcity of disinfectants; how long will the candidates act with such disdain?" The US forces, assisted by the new Iraqi army, are waging repeated attacks against Sunni areas on the pretext of paving the road to elections. Three offensives -- codenamed lions, panthers and bears -- have been waged on Ramadi. The US army may or may not have made advances, but local groups claimed through the Internet that they maintained control of Ramadi and have forced US forces to withdraw. With so little access to information, it is hard to know what's going on. The outcome of such operations has been devastating in the past. Once US forces pulled out of Hit, in western Iraq, and from one of Al-Anbar's towns, the damage to property was found to be extensive. During the military operations in Hit, journalists were not allowed into town and all communications with the city were severed. Inhabitants of what was once Hit still live in tents in the freezing cold. Children have stopped going to school. As fighting went on in Ramadi, US forces launched an offensive against Al-Azim, 150 kilometres north of Baghdad, on the road to Kirkuk. Meanwhile, mysterious death squads continue their lethal work. Sheikh Abdul- Salam Al-Kobeisi, spokesman of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), has warned that should the targeted killings and military offensives go on, the AMS would stop abiding by the Cairo Declaration. In a press conference held at the AMS headquarters, Al-Kobeisi showed journalists photographs of a man and his son who had been abducted and killed, their bodies mutilated. President Bush is still telling the world how "democratic" mid-December elections will be. But Iraqi candidates seem less interested in democracy than in the advantages that come with a parliamentary victory. One campaign manager told the Weekly that the Americans have given some Sunni lists $330,000 to spend on their campaigns, apparently to encourage them to take part. He added that no action had been taken to prevent irregularities that marred the last elections. Iraq's highest religious authority, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, is once again making his voice heard. He urged Iraqis to support the religious blocs contesting the elections. In other words, he told the Iraqis to vote for the Alliance list. His deputy, however, denies that the Shia scholar supports any specific list.
