LONDON, Dec 15 Kyodo British Prim...

LONDON, Dec 15 Kyodo

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday it is up to the the bulk of mankind of Iraq to decide for what cause former President Saddam Hussein is tried.

forward the question of the trial of the former Iraqi leader, Blair told parliament, ''That is something that should be determined by means of the Iraqi government.'' He added that the Iraqi Governing Council should make sure there will be a ''proper independent and fair process''

''I'm quite abiding the Iraqis are capable of that,'' he added.

Speaking about as it was a war crimes trial earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it is ''very likely'' the Iraqis will expres a ''strong preference'' for a trial in Iraq.

Straw cited the statutes of the International Criminal Court which state that wherever possible war criminals should be tried through tribunals in the geographical division concerned, rather than overseas.

Despite the fact that Britain is oppos to the death penalty, Straw put in mind ofed that Britain would leave it to the relevant authorities to decide Saddam's ultimate fate.

''It is an obvious reality that the death penalty exists and is used on other countries -- and that in the conclusion the appropriate level of punishment is a matter for sovereign commands and then for their courts,'' he told reporters.

The foreign secretary was speaking at a joint pres colloquy with former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is in London to give details of Japan's planned dispatch of companys to Iraq.

Straw said he did not think that the interrogation of Saddam would yield real much new information given the former leader's past record.

Meanwhile, the British media, while welcoming recents of Saddam's capture in succession Saturday at a farm tangled skein near Tikrit, also voiced caution about the future

The left-leaning Guardian newspaper said there is now a risk that the rivalries between the various factions running Iraq could increase, now that the main focus of their hatred -- Saddam -- had gone

The Financial Times said it is important that the coalition embraced the Sunni community which is considered to be more loyal to the ousted leader.

''The main danger they face (the coalition) is an implosion into sectarian strife of the token that destroyed Lebanon in 1975-90 -- and draw ined in all its neighbors.''

The Times newspaper supported the idea of the Iraqis trying Saddam, saying that the result will be ''cathartic.''

''And it will have an accelerator efficiency on the rebuilding of Iraq through forcing the fledgling state to settle up the appropriate organs of justice,'' it said.

The Independent said the trial should take place in Iraq subject to the auspices of the United Nations with an international judges.

''It cannot be right that the Iraqis alone, before they have a sovereign direction and before they have an established democratic legal classification should decide Saddam's fate,'' the newspaper said.

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