Saddam said yesterday at his arraignment that the charges levelled
against him was all theatre and intended solely to shore up the sagging
fortunes of the Bushies.
According to Al-Jazeera,
aljazeera.com
the arraignment of Saddam produced unexpected
results. Instead of a fearful, cowering, humiliated, gaunt-looking and a broken
man, TV viewers in the Arab world saw a Saddam who was as defiant, didactic
and bold and confident as ever, and it seems that even while many Arabs,
especially Iraqis, are glad he is being brought to justice, they still could not help
feeling somewhat proud of him. As it is feared that Saddam might still have the
power to inspire his supporters and sympathisers, most of his words were muted
<rendered inaudible>. Which somehow gave the impression he was "gagged" at times.
Ever true to his character, Saddam refused to sign the charges levelled against
him.
IMHO, the Iraqi court will have a hard time trying Saddam as his lawyers will
no doubt argue with no little legitimacy that the present Iraqi government is not a real
Iraqi government. That is, it is a government that exists only on handed-over documents and
cannot function independently without the support/intervention of the "occupying forces".
I believe the appropriate place to try Saddam is the World Court where Milosevic
is being tried at present.
I believe that just as in the case of Milosevic, Saddam's trial at the World Court (if ever it gets
there) will also be mired in difficulties. |
