Iraqis clamor for Saddam execution

By: Ismail Zabeeh

HOLY CITY OF NAJAF, Iraq: Thousands of Iraqis in Baghdad, Basra and the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala staged protests Tuesday shouting for ousted dictator and worst oppressor Saddam Hussein's execution.

Carrying flags and posters of various clerical leaders including Moqtada As-Sadr, the protestors lashed out against the Pentagon's designation of Saddam as a POW and the Governing Council's plans to endorse federalism in the basic law to rule the country through 2005.

The 5,000-strong crowd in Baghdad was believed to be the first public demonstration in Iraq demanding death for Saddam since he was captured by US forces Dec. 13. The Pentagon has said Saddam is a prisoner of war and that designation will not keep the deposed Iraqi president from standing trial before an Iraqi tribunal.

“Saddam is a war criminal, not a POW! Execute Saddam!,” the crowd chanted.

Prisoner of war status under the Geneva Conventions grants Saddam certain rights, including a guarantee that he can be tried only by an international tribunal or the occupying power.

A statement by the demonstrators said Saddam should be tried by an Iraqi court for crimes against humanity. “We emphasize our rejection and condemnation of the unjust American decision” to term him a prisoner of war, it said. “Did America forget, or is (it) forgetting the screams of the children, orphans, and the tears of women who are crying at the graves of their sons and husbands?”

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