Iraqi Voices
December 16, 2003
Politicians
grapple with question of trial
...Nor
did Saddam's Iraqi enemies appear concerned that a trial
could become a platform for the former ruler to rally
loyalists to the cause of insurgency against the Anglo-American
occupation and the new Iraqi leadership.
"I
can't see him saying anything at a trial that would embarrass
anyone," Ahmed Shames, a leader of a pro-democracy
group based in London, said in an interview. "Everyone
knows about his relationship with the West, and no one
is denying that they supported him in the 1980s.
"But
the trial has to be in Iraq," Shames insisted. "He
cannot be allowed to get a chance like (Slobodan) Milosevic
to stand up in a place like The Hague and give speeches
justifying what he has done. It would make the process
ridiculous."
