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Iraq sees no unrest as Saddam’s death marked

By Ahmad Jamal, Xinhua

Baghdad : Supporters of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein paid tribute to his tomb on Sunday which marked the first anniversary of his execution, while the whole country remained peaceful amid tightened security against possible riots.

The Iraqis, who have divided opinions on his execution, shared common concern about the current volatile situation and misty future.

In Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, dozens of people, including school children, the tribal leader of Saddam’s tribe and his supporters, gathered at his tomb in the Awja village, citing verses of Quran and laying flowers.

The Iraqi security forces intensified its presence in Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, bracing for emergencies that might happen, said a security source from the Salahudin provincial.

“Tikrit and other cities in the province are quiet and there is no incidents reported today,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Abdul Karim, spokesman for the interior ministry, said Saturday that the security troops were prepared to foil any attempt to stir up riots.

The toppled president was sentenced to death on Nov. 5, 2006 by the Iraqi High Criminal Court for his role in the killing of 143 Iraqi Shiites in the Dujail village in 1982 in retaliation for an attempt on him.

Saddam, at the age of 69, was hung at approximately 06:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Dec. 30 of 2006, several minutes before Sunni Iraqis began to celebrate Eid al-Adha, during which they slaughter livestock in memory of Prophet Abraham.

And so was his three senior officials in the following months.

“I think the government made a mistake in the timing of Saddam’s execution, which was on the first day of Eid al-Adha last year,”said Hassan al-Dulaimi, 45, a Sunni shop owner in Mansour distric tin western Baghdad.

“It wasn’t about whether he deserves to be executed or not, they only sent a wrong message to the people. The man was going tobe hung, there was nothing to gloat about. It was so shameful,” hesaid referring to a mobile phone video footage which showed that Saddam was taunted right before his execution.

Salman al-Janabi, a Sunni Iraqi teacher, said “It is the fact that Saddam was a dictator, and maybe he deserves his fate. But it is also the fact that life in Saddam times was better and we have to remember that Saddam’s regime was under severe sanctions by the United Nations.”

Janabi said he has a mixed feeling toward Saddam because on the one hand he brought disasters to Iraq by his wars, and on the other hand, the toppled president is a real patriot.

Iraq’s Shiites, however, justified Saddam’s execution. Ali Hussein, a 55-year-old teacher said that he would like to see Saddam to be hung “dozens of times for his crimes.”

Iraq saw a surge of violence in the following months after Saddam’s death. The security situation has improved over the past several months thanks to a surge of U.S. troops in Iraq, the ceasefire offered by a major Shiite militia group and the Sunni’s uprising against al-Qaida.

However, discord and mistrust still cast shadow on the country’s reconciliation process. The Sunni parties have not yet returned to the government, while the passage of a series of key laws is hardly expected to come soon.

Dulaimi said the political situation has not changed since Saddam’s execution, criticizing the politicians of carrying the ideology of revenge.

For Ali Hussein, killing Saddam has not been translated into concrete benefit for his life. He is not satisfied with the government’s political and economic performance as the situation is still deteriorating.

“They have done nothing in these regards. Nothing has changed, except some improvement in the security which I doubt would last long,” he said.

Haider Abbas, 32, a Shiite taxi driver, said the political leaders should recon ciliate, so the Iraqis can forget about the past and look forward to the future of all Iraqis.