[Dialogue] The job of patience in Hussein's trial

[Harry Wainwright]

Colleagues, this is a little different take on this than I have seen in the
US America press up to this point. Peace, Harry 
  _____  


 

                 <http://www.csmonitor.com/index.html> The Christian Science
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from the December 27, 2005 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1227/p08s02-comv.html

The job of patience in Hussein's trial

The Monitor's View

Trials take patience. Yet the trial of Saddam Hussein is straining Iraqis'
patience. His courtroom histrionics appear to be making the tribunal
anything but historic. But the patience of the presiding judge toward the
former tyrant's outbursts may be just what's needed to help cement the rule
of law in Iraq. 

Mr. Hussein and seven of his deputies went on trial in October for the first
of many atrocity crimes - the killing of more than 140 Shiites in 1982 in
retaliation for an assassination attempt against Hussein. Last week, the
trial was adjourned until Jan. 24.

Hussein has often disrupted the proceedings with accusations, harangues, and
defiant gestures against the five judges and witnesses. These antics are
clearly intended to delay and intimidate.

Last week, for instance, when witnesses told tales of torture or killings
allegedly ordered by Hussein, he tried to divert attention by claiming he'd
been tortured while in American custody since his capture in 2003. (The
court judges found no evidence of torture.)

His boisterous barbs, however, have so far failed to derail the trial's
course, and he knows it. At first, for instance, Hussein refused to
recognize the court's jurisdiction. Later, he pleaded "not guilty" to
charges. Finding no effect in his disruptions, he's exhaustedly tried new
tactics or given up. By last week, he was starting to wait for permission to
speak.

With his behavior largely tolerated by the court, Hussein may be forced to
recognize the emptiness of his defiance. He'll find no resonance with the
judge or with most Iraqis.

The presiding judge, an Iraqi Kurd named Rizgar Mohammed Amin, is no fool. A
1980 graduate of Baghdad University law school, he's an even-tempered judge
with a track record for standing up to political pressure under the Hussein
regime.

Before millions of Iraqis watching on TV, Mr. Amin has shown a balance
between an orderly trial and the rights of the defendants, including a right
for them to cross-examine witnesses. His tolerance of Hussein's antics shows
a respect, politeness, and fairness that was denied Iraqis under Hussein's
system of nonjustice.

Amin has rejected putting the defendants in soundproof glass cages, as
critics suggest, or cutting them off from being heard in court. That might
have reduced the political theater. But the contrast between the old ways
and, it's hoped, the new ways of law and order is necessary for Iraqis to
see during this trial - one of possibly many against Hussein.

US government officials who control the TV broadcasts of the trial, however,
are less farsighted. By often cutting the signal during Hussein's
statements, they reveal a bias that diminishes the image of justice.

Holding the trial in Iraq and before Iraqi judges, while not ideal, is
better than trying him abroad, with the help of non-Iraqi judges. Most
Iraqis assume Hussein is guilty of the charges, so their attention is
focused on the process which, by being local, better reflects their
sensibilities.

Iraqis have already shown their respect for democracy during three elections
in 2005. With patience like that of Judge Amin's, they should also begin to
respect the rule of law in a new Iraq.

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