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[ This message has been sent to you via the CASI-analysis mailing list ] This is an automated compilation of submissions to newsclippings@casi.org.uk Articles for inclusion in this daily news mailing should be sent to newsclippings@casi.org.uk. Please include a full reference to the source of the article. Today's Topics: 1. Three articles re legitimacy Iraq tribunal (ppg) --__--__-- Message: 1 From: "ppg" <ppg@DELETETHISnyc.rr.com> To: <newsclippings@casi.org.uk> Subject: Three articles re legitimacy Iraq tribunal Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2004 10:24:58 -0400 1. http://tinyurl.com/29yjg http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/83411053-8983-4697-A41A-BB5222BA994F= . htm Saturday 03 July 2004, 1:00 Makka Time, 22:00 GMT Iraqis plan rival government By Ahmed Janabi Ragad Saddam Hussein (R) has been encouraged to mobilise politically Sources close to Saddam Hussein's family have said that calls for former Iraqi officials to form a government in exile are gaining ground. The Egyptian international law counsel Hasan Umar told Aljazeera.net he believesthat if Ragad Saddam Hussein and former Iraqi officials form a riva= l government, they would shorten the life of the "Iraqi occupation". =93A government in exile would be a threat to the Iraqi interim government = of Iyad Allawi that would prevent him from continuing to grant privileges to the US-led occupation forces,=94 he said. =93Many former Iraqi officials are living outside Iraq, and can help in forming and exile government, which will help a lot in stopping the US plan= s in the region.=94... =93Who liberated France from the Nazis? It was De Gaul=92s government in ex= ile, not the Vichy government which was installed by the Nazi occupiers,=94 Umar said. =93A government in exile would give Iraqis the chance to choose instead of accepting one choice delivered by the occupiers=94 Aljazeera.net spoke to Saddam=92s cousin and one-time bodyguard before his 1995 defection. He said that he is ready to announce a government in exile if there is an Arab or Muslim country willing to host it. =93The problem is Arab and Muslim states think that such a step means an anti-US act, and since the world is terrified from the US in an unprecedented way, it is not possible to take such a step in the present time,=94 said Izz al-Din al-Majid...." Iraqi political analyst Dhafir al-An= i said a government in exile would give international players the chance to ask the US to consult the Iraqi people. =93Rulers have been imposed on Iraqis, first the Governing Council, and now the interim government. A government in exile would give Iraqis the chance to choose instead of accepting one choice delivered by the occupiers," said al-Ani. Saddam Hussein=92s defence lawyer Muhammad al-Rashdan said the move deserve= s deep consideration. =93We will consider the formation of a government in exile from a legal poi= nt of view, if we sensed it useful to built our case in defending the legitimate president of Iraq Mr. Saddam Hussein, we will back it with all our might,=94 al-Rashdan said. 2. http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/070204H.shtml Interview with Saddam lawyer, Liberation, French daily newspaper: The Court in Charge of Trying Saddam Has No Legal Standing By Judith Rueff Lib=E9ration Thursday 01 July 2004 One of the former dictator's French lawyers explains that Saddam's defenders' work will consist of paralyzing the operation of the court charged with trying him. Mr. Emmanuel Ludot is part of the team of 22 lawyers designated by Saddam Hussein's wife to assure the defense of the former dictator, who appears Thursday for the first time before the special Iraqi tribunal charged with trying him. The day before, the Americans transferred the former Iraqi head of state to his country's justice. He will be subject to the death penalty, which was suspended during the American occupation and which is supposed to be reinstated shortly. How will you defend Saddam Hussein? All our effort will consist of paralyzing the operation of the Iraqi specia= l tribunal, the legality of which we contest. This tribunal has no basis in law, since Iraq has no National Assembly today to create a special jurisdiction. On top of that, the procedural rules that will be used to try Saddam Hussein have been made to order for the needs of this case and the judges enjoy no legitimacy because they were named under the influence of the American Pentagon and will work under pressure and in fear. The conditions for a fair trail have not been met and what is being prepared is a masquerade of justice. If this court is not competent, then where and by whom must the former Iraq= i President be tried? Nowhere. The first thing Saddam will say is that he is and remains the Iraq= i President. Two countries, the United States and Great Britain, have invaded Iraq without a mandate and in violation of international law. Legally, that's an aggression and everything that has happened since this invasion i= s tinged with irregularity. Since the United States did not want the International Criminal Court, there is a complete legal vacuum. Have you seen your client? I am now in Amman, Jordan, and I hope to get to Baghdad as soon as Saddam Hussein confirms the mandate his wife gave our team. Unfortunately, my Jordanian colleagues have been threatened by the Iraqi Defense and Justice Ministers and I'm preparing to ask for Quai d'Orsay (tn: French Foreign Ministry) protection. Clearly, we are not welcome in Iraq. The new authorities would prefer Iraqi lawyers easy to intimidate and a quick trial= . What do you know about the conditions of his imprisonment? According to the International Red Cross, which visited him three times, they are good. The problem is that after the transfer of sovereignty June 2= 8 and the official end of hostilities, Saddam Hussein no longer has prisoner-of-war status, which was a protection. He became a common law prisoner. 3. Q & A With CIA Analyst Stephen Pelletiere http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2098.htm A War Crime or an Act of War? By Stephen C. Pelletiere The New York Times, Jan. 31, 2003 End of casi-news Digest _______________________________________ Sent via the CASI-analysis mailing list To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-analysis All postings are archived on CASI's website at http://www.casi.org.uk