Two years after his capture, Saddam Hussein finally faces his accusers, reports Salah Hemeid The sensational trial of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein began yesterday in Baghdad on a familiar note. "I am the president of Iraq," he thundered. A defiant Saddam pleaded not guilty and answered his accusers with scorn and derision. He took issue with being described as "former president". The long-awaited trial was adjourned to 28 November. Saddam, along with seven senior members of his toppled regime, were charged with orchestrating the massacre in the mainly Shiite town of Dujail, 50 miles north of Baghdad, following a failed attempt on Saddam's life 23 years ago. The Dujail incident is one of many atrocities perpetrated by the former regime that, in repeated crackdowns, is estimated to have killed 180,000 Kurds. In 1988 5,000 Kurds were reported to have been killed by poison gas in Halabja. Many more became victims of the regime's 1991 suppression of Kurdish and Shia revolts. The 68-year old Saddam confronted his Kurdish judge by saying that his trial was "based on injustice ... I do not respond to this so-called court". He added, "You know me! You are an Iraqi and you know that I do not get tired." A day before the trial opened Iran sent a list of charges against Saddam including genocide and the use of chemical weapons during the 1980- 1988 Iraq-Iran War. The former dictator also faces charges dating from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and seven-months occupation of the emirate. The trial started amid tight security in the US- controlled Green Zone of Baghdad. Observers are subjected to body searches, X-rays, background checks, eye scans and finger-printing. Saddam and his seven co-defendants heard the charges against them during yesterday's hearing which was restricted to procedural matters. If convicted they could face the death penalty, though they can appeal the sentence. In a statement on a Web site, which could not be verified, the outlawed Baath Party called for supporters to attack US and Iraqi forces at the start of trial, urging supporters to "salute the leader... by firing bullets and mortars of death at the occupier, its men, equipment and bases, as well as at agents in the army and other symbols of treason". Meanwhile, auditors were continuing their investigation into the referendum on Iraq's draft constitution as ballot boxes from provinces across Iraq were flown by helicopter and plane into Baghdad after United Nations officials expressed concern over the conduct of the initial count. Although officials from the Independent Electoral Commission insisted the audit did not imply fraud they ordered a check on what were described as "unusually high" votes in favour of the constitution in 12 predominantly Kurdish and Shia provinces. The majority of Shia Arabs and Kurds, who make up 80 per cent of Iraq's population, are thought to support the draft constitution, which is opposed by many Sunni Arabs. To be endorsed the constitution must gain the support of a simple majority with the proviso that if two thirds of the electorate from three or more provinces vote against it will be rejected. Heeding calls from Sunni religious and political leaders, who have warned that ratification of the draft constitution threatens to split Iraq, Sunni Arabs turned out to vote in large numbers with initial results suggesting that in Anbar and in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit the constitution had been rejected. But both Mosul and Diyalah, home to large Sunni communities and seen as the Sunnis' best hope for a third no- vote apparently fell well short of the required two- thirds majority. The electoral commission's audit of the ballot came amid complaints from Sunni Arab leaders that Saturday's vote had been rigged. They allege that in areas where the poll was expected to be close ballot boxes had been stuffed with yes votes. The Electoral Commission said it was examining all allegations of irregularities and would not declare the results until its investigation had been completed. Shia and Kurdish leaders, meanwhile, deny any incidents of fraud and have accused some Sunni spokesmen of trying to torpedo the political process in an attempt to lend impetus to the 30-months-old insurgency. In Shia provinces voters turned out in large numbers in support of the constitution. On the streets of Najaf, Kerbela and Basra the draft is generally seen as empowering Shias after decades of marginalisation. Similar enthusiasm was shown in the Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniya for a draft constitution that gives Shia and Kurds the option to turn their regions into federal units. The claims and counter claims fuelled debate over the bitterly fought referendum and a constitution that was supposed to result in elections and, by 2006, a new government capable of addressing the deep ethnic and sectarian differences that have helped fuel the insurgency. Due to be elected in December, the new government is expected to tackle a series of potentially explosive issues -- including power sharing and allocation of oil revenues -- that must be resolved to ensure the long- term stability of Iraq. Even without a clear-cut result the referendum was welcomed by US President George W Bush, who congratulated Iraqis for having completed the referendum. His optimism was not shared in Arab capitals where the political map traced in the draft constitution is not seen as an automatic pathway to peace. Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said ending the bloody cycle of violence will need more that a constitution. It is an opinion shared by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who this week begins his own mission to Baghdad in an attempt to bring Iraqis together in a conference of reconciliation.
