Saddam’s Trial Too Short

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Chairman of Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaoddin Boroujerdi said Saddam’s trial was too short.“Saddam’s trial was too limited. Yet, his execution is still a lesson for criminals,” the MP said.

“Saddam was quickly put to death perhaps because Western nations were complicit in many of the crimes Saddam committed. Countries like Germany provided Saddam with chemical weapons technology and the US provoked and supported Saddam’s invasion of Iran,” he said.

Iran hailed on Saturday the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as “enforcer of the most horrendous crimes against humanity” but many Iranians said Saddam should have stood trial for invading Iran and Kuwait before being hanged.

“Saddam, enforcer of the most horrendous crimes against humanity, has been put to death,” Iran’s state-run television reported Saturday.

“With the execution of Saddam, the dossier of one of the world’s most criminal dictators was closed,” it said.

Saddam was considered Iran’s biggest enemy for invading Iran in 1980, a bloody war that lasted eight years and took the lives of over a million people and left the economic infrastructure in Iraq and Iran almost in ruins.

Iran had asked the court trying Saddam to charge the former leader with crimes from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, such as his use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Consulate and Parliamentary Affairs Hamid Reza Asefi said, “With regard to Saddam’s execution, it amounts to a victory of the Iraqi people as they were the winners of his fall.”

“Saddam’s regime was overthrown because the Iraqi people did not support him. It is crystal clear that the United States should not misinterpret his fall and take the credit to itself,” he continued.

Asefi also lashed out at the former Iraqi president for launching consecutive wars on Iran and Kuwait in the 1980s and early 1990s, saying his conducts had weakened the Arab and Islamic fronts.

“War on Iran led to a split in the Islamic world and serious problems with respect to unity among Muslims,” he said, adding that the war on Kuwait dealt another blow on the Arab world and further deepened discord among Arabs.

“When the Arab and Islamic fronts were weakened, the Zionist regime took the most advantage (of the situation). This left the Palestinians in the worst situation,” the Iranian deputy foreign minister for consulate and parliamentary affairs said.

“On internal affairs, Saddam put massacre of Shiites on his agenda. In a broader dimension, he masterminded plans for killing Kurds and sowing discord between Shiites and Sunnis,” Asefi said.

He also stressed that Saddam’s case was closed quickly in a bid to cover up Washington’s support for the former Iraqi regime in the 1980s.

“Saddam’s case was closed soon. If the cases of wars on Iran and Kuwait had been also examined, the US alliance and role would have been disclosed,” Asefi said.

“So, Washington tried to end the case with the investigation into Saddam’s crimes in Dujail,” he added.

In Khorramshahr, a port city on the border with Iraq, people honked car horns, sang and danced in celebration, Iranian media reported. Others passed out sweet drinks to passers-by.

Khorramshahr was occupied by Saddam troops soon after the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980. Iranian forces liberated the city in a decisive battle in May 1982.

In parts of the capital Tehran, residents handed out sweets to passers-by as a sign of celebration for Saddam’s death.

“Saddam was a brutal dictator who committed numerous crimes against his own people and his neighbors,” said Parvaneh Dousti, a bank clerk, in the Iranian capital Tehran. “He brought destruction to Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and the whole Middle East,” she said. She was referring to Saddam’s invasion of Iran and Iraq.

“Saddam deserved death. I’m so happy that a black era has come to a full end,” she said.

Hassan Mohebi, a fruit vendor, said death was too little for Saddam.

“Death was the least punishment for Saddam. He destroyed the lives of millions of people in this region. Saddam will be remembered in history as one of the most hated figures. Today is a day of celebration for all those who suffered from his rule,” he said.

Mohebi was selling fruits at half price, a discount to celebrate the hanging of Saddam. He lost a son in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Mohammed Karimi, a taxi driver, said he still didn’t believe that Saddam is dead.

“Probably, it was a Saddam double who was executed – not actually him,” he said, referring to books published in the past about Saddam having several look-alikes who would stand in for him.

Sareh Naghavi, a university student, said Saddam’s trial should have continued.

“Saddam should have been questioned for all the crimes he committed before being put to death,” she said. “He should have been asked to answer why he invaded Iran and Kuwait and why he launched chemical attacks against Iranians and Iraqis.”