Even as Saddam's trial commences, Iraq's Sunni community does not believe it is time to bury the hatchet, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad The Iraqi government's release of a video showing Saddam Hussein being questioned by Chief Trial Judge Raid Juhi comes at a very convenient time for both the Americans and Iraqi government. Indeed, the focus on Saddam and his upcoming trial is a diversionary tactic used by both the Iraqi government and the United States administration. The Iraqi government needs to draw attention away from its failure to provide security to the Iraqi people, and the US administration needs a distraction from the controversy surrounding the desecration of the holy Quran at Guantanamo. In a recent press conference, Laith Kubba, an Iraqi government spokesman, said, "Saddam could face up to 500 charges, but prosecutors will focus on 12 well-documented cases, including the gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq." He added that "the government was confident the trial would take place within the next couple of months. There should be no objection that a trial should take place within that time." According to a human rights lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, "The judges, investigators and their families were transferred to the Green Zone after one of the judges was killed. They are living and meeting in the Green Zone and the Ministry of Justice has no relationship with them." Isolated in the Green Zone, it is difficult to imagine how they expect to organise a fair trial for Saddam. The Iraqi special tribunal trying Saddam likely used the new video as a propaganda tactic to show that it is in control of the proceedings. In Amman, Saddam's lawyer claimed his Jordan-based legal team was not aware that the fallen dictator was questioned and criticised the legitimacy of the special tribunal. "It's illegal to issue charges against the Iraqi president this way. The appropriate channel is for the accusation to come through the courts and for the lawyers to receive a copy of the indictment." The team argues that Saddam has been deprived of his legal rights as a defendant, as he is unable to consult his lawyers, has no access to his case, and is still not aware of the specific charges filed against him. Meanwhile, media outlets quoting high ranking Iraqi officials reported alleged negotiations between the government and resistance groups regarding Saddam's fate, suggesting that the armed groups might be willing to lay down their arms if Saddam is not tried. However, an Iraqi official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "after President Talabani asked the fighters to negotiate, some negotiations took place, but as far as I know the trial of Saddam was not an issue " Abdul-Salam Al-Kubaysi, a personality close to the resistance, confirmed that "resistance leaders participated in an open conference in Falluja. They spoke about their participation in the coming political process but they did not speak about negotiations with the government in regards to Saddam." The attempt to include more Sunni representatives on the drafting committee of the new Iraqi constitution led to strong disagreements, as Shia law-makers rejected calls for increasing Sunni representatives from 15 to 25 on the 55-member committee. The Sunnis renewed threats to boycott and sink the charter. Al-Kubaysi added, "the Iraqi resistance fighters are not defending Saddam. They are fighting to free Iraq. But, if he is convicted for crimes against humanity, who will be convicted for the killings of tens of thousands of civilian Iraqis within the past two years? Who will be convicted for destroying and stealing Iraq?" Meanwhile, the upsurge in violence continues. On Tuesday, Mohamed Jawad of Yarmouk Hospital in western Baghdad said the bodies of 13 Iraqi men, some beheaded or shot in the head, had been brought to the hospital. When the video of Saddam was released, four suicide car bombings and other attacks around Iraq claimed the lives of at least 14 people. On the Iraqi street, opinions differ, some are for the trial and the death penalty, and some are against. Ali Ammar, a law student said, "let Saddam be tried because of his crimes." Yet many of the "new" Iraqi officials and leaders have committed the same crimes as Saddam. "While Saddam was killing his opponents, the opponents were killing the Baathists and members of the former Iraqi army, who will prosecute them?"
