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Strong show of support for Saddam

— PHOTO: AP

REMEMBERING THEIR LEADER: Iraqi children gather outside the tomb of Saddam Hussein near Tikrit on Sunday.

DUBAI: Supporters of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who was executed one year ago have assembled at his grave. Dozens of tribal leaders, clerics and students gathered at the former President’s burial site in Awja — his birthplace in central Iraq.

“We are holding a simple ceremony to remember the President who served and protected Iraq and its people and maintained their dignity,” Ali al-Nida, chief of the Baijat tribe to which Saddam belonged was quoted as saying.

Saddam was taunted by his executioners before he was hanged and photographs of this ungainly incident taken on a mobile phone were circulated all over the world.

The former President’s widely condemned execution is said to have deepened the polarisation in Iraq, which has

a majority Shia population.

Saddam’s posters appeared overnight and loudspeakers in his home village have been playing verses from the Koran. Civilian volunteers have stood guard at the hall which houses Saddam’s grave. One of the posters in nearby Tikrit read: “There is no life without the sun and no dignity without Saddam.” Another slogan said, “Paradise for the hero Saddam.”

Saddam posters also appeared in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district. Around 2,000 persons rallied in support of the former Iraqi leader on Saturday in the Jordanian capital Amman. Iraqi security forces have been put on alert in anticipation of possible violence by his loyalists.

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