Many Iraqis believed that the start of trial proceedings against two key members of Saddam Hussein's regime, three days after the start of the electoral campaign for the Iraqi National Assembly, was hastily announced.  

The sudden announcement was interpreted as part of the electoral campaign that the interim Iraqi government wanted to satisfy the political movements against the men of the former regime and the Baath Party, which ruled Iraq for about 35 years.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as "Chemical Ali," appeared before an investigating magistrate, starting the process of trial of Iraq's former top officials, an Iraqi court said Saturday.

Sultan Hashim Ahmed, Saddam's defense minister, was also brought to trial Saturday in front of the investigative judge in the Iraqi Special War Crimes Tribunal.

Last Wednesday Ayad Allawi, the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, said that the trial of the members of the former Iraqi regime would start soon, and that the "symbols" of the former regime would be brought to court "one by one."

"The government is intending to try the two men, Ali is expected to get an execution for the numerous crimes that he committed, and Sultan Hashim would be released because there are no serious crime against him, and that is just to give the public opinion and the world the impression that it is a fair trial remote from any type of revenge," said a man of law, who preferred not to mention his name.

Majeed, a member in the Revolution Command Council in the former regime, is a cousin of Saddam. The US forces arrested him in August 2003.

He is accused of killing and poisoning 100,000 Kurds with chemical weapons in the Al Anfal Campaign in 1988 and he also played a prominent role in oppressing the Shiite uprising in 1990.

As for Sultan Hashim Ahmed, he surrendered himself in September 19 and he is accused of intentional killing in Halabja, a Kurdish city in the north of Iraq, and also of involving in the Anfal operation, but some of the officials testified that he was not responsible for the crimes.

International legal experts worry that the trials are being hurried and fear that the defendants would not receive fair hearing sessions.

Though what took place Saturday was not a trial but only a hearing and investigation with those two defendants, but bringing them to court stirred various opinion for Iraqis.

"All that is needed from the men in power now is to make sure that the trial would be a fair one remote from any kind of revenge to prove to the world that we are a civilized people and that we deal with criminals on the basis of justice," said Saadon al Janabi, a school teacher.

"It would not make any difference if the trials were sooner or later because it is bound by the general chaos prevailing now in Iraq," he added.

"The trial is for drawing the attention of the public opinion from what it is doing in Iraq by highlighting the disadvantages of the former ruler and justifying the occupation, and to forget the issue of the mass destruction weapons, which appeared to be untrue," said Qassim al Dulaimy.

"One would wonder by what legitimacy Allawi would announce this trial and he is the one heading a government appointed by illegitimate occupation," said Mohamed Nasir, owner of a grocery shop.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2004)