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Saddam Hussein could avoid the gallows under a
secret proposal by insurgent leaders that Iraq's new
administration is "seriously considering", a senior
government source said yesterday.
A reprieve is understood to be among the central
demands of Sunni nationalists and former members of
Saddam's Ba'ath party who have reportedly begun
negotiations with the government amid the backdrop
of a bloody insurgency which claimed 30 lives during
the weekend.
Officials say they are looking for a way of joining
the political process after January's election,
which was boycotted by most of the once-powerful
Sunni minority.
"We are trying to reach out to the insurgents," the
source said. "We don't expect them to stop fighting
unconditionally. Sending Saddam to prison for the
rest of his life is not a huge price for us to pay,
but it will save them a lot of face."
The official said those involved in the negotiations
included senior members of Saddam's Fedayeen militia
and the Jaish Mohammed, a grouping of former army
officers that operates under the guise of an
Islamist organisation.
But it is unclear if those at the talks genuinely
represent a majority of the deeply fragmented
insurgency. While a deal could represent an
important step towards ending the violence that has
plagued postwar Iraq, a reprieve for Saddam would
infuriate many in the country. He is unlikely to
come to trial before the end of this year, but Jalal
Talabani, Iraq's new president, has already begun to
prepare his people for a possible reprieve.
Asked about the fate of Saddam in an interview
yesterday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat,
the president, who is a Kurd, stated his personal
opposition to a death sentence.
"I am among the lawyers who signed an international
petition against the death penalty around the world
and it would be a problem for me if Iraqi courts
issued death sentences," he said.
Though Mr Talabani's powers are largely ceremonial,
he has the power, as the head of a three-man
presidential council, to commute death sentences.
The two vice presidents that make up the remainder
of the council, Ghazi al Yawar, a Sunni, and Adel
Abdul Mahdi, a Shia, have not stated their
positions.
Further demonstrating his determination for a
political settlement to the insurgency, Mr Talabani
proposed an amnesty for fighters last week. But al-Qa'eda's
wing in Iraq, which is led by Jordanian-born Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, yesterday rejected the offer and
dismissed Mr Talabani as an American "agent".
Though they regard Mr Talabani as a hero, many Kurds
said they opposed any plans not to execute Saddam.
"Anything but death for Saddam would be a travesty
of justice," said Nawzad Othman, a greengrocer whose
brother was among 5,000 Kurds killed in the
notorious chemical weapon attack on Halabja in 1988.
"A murderer like that cannot be allowed to live."
Iraq's new government, dominated by the majority
Shia community and its Kurdish coalition partners,
faces a tricky balancing act. Its attempts to reach
out to all parties were boosted yesterday when the
outgoing interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, a
secular Shia, agreed to join the new government
after weeks of negotiation. It was unclear if Mr
Allawi or any of his bloc would take cabinet posts.
Shia MPs in the cleric-backed United Iraqi Alliance,
which won 51 per cent of the vote in the election,
are unhappy with the development and accuse Mr
Allawi of corruption.
www.telegraph.co.uk
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