BAGHDAD, July 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appeared in court Thursday and this has brought mixed reactions from both the international community and the Iraqi people.

    Saddam will face as many as 12 charges of anti-humanity crimes during his rule of some 24 years, which include the use of chemical weapons in 1988 against Kurds and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

    Iraqi Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan said death penalty would be applied to the deposed president if he was convicted of the accused crimes.

    The United States, which handed over power to the Iraqi interim government on Monday, welcomed Saddam's appearance, saying it was an important step for the war-torn country.

    According to Scott McClellan, spokesman for the White House, US President George W. Bush "is pleased that Saddam and his regime leaders are going to be brought to justice by the Iraqi people in an Iraqi court for the atrocities his regime committed."

    "This is an important step that will help the Iraqi people bring closure" to Saddam's rule, McClellan added.

    In a speech in New Orleans, Louisiana, Vice President Dick Cheney also expressed his happiness to see Saddam appear in court.

    However, The New York Times stressed in an editorial Thursday that the trial of Saddam should be fair, saying, "Saddam's trial can be a significant step toward the rule of law or a detour back to the rule of revenge."

    The actual trial would not begin until an elected Iraqi government takes power, a step planned for next January, said the article.

    Britain, a steady ally of the United States in the Iraq war, has expressed its strong opposition to executing Saddam.

    Britain would make "very strong representations" that Iraqis "need not to use the death penalty," said Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in a parliament session in the middle of June while answering questions from lawmakers.

    On Wednesday, France also reiterated its view against the deathpenalty under all circumstances and called for a trial for Saddam in compliance with the international law.

    "It is now up to the Iraqi people to judge Saddam Hussein, in a trial that must abide by the rules of international law" as he has been acknowledged as a war criminal, said Cecil Pozzo di Borgo, deputy spokeswoman of the French Foreign Ministry.

    Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher downplayed Saddam's court appearance, saying, "The question of the trial is a secondary issue. I can not comment on it."

    "The important thing is that the Iraqi people could overcome this difficult phase, and the circumstances they have gone through for long years and will continue to go through come to an end, and their future could be better than the past," he said.

    Watching Saddam's appearance on TV, Iraqis had diverse views on the legal proceedings.

    "I think Saddam deserves to be sentenced to death for the mass graves we have seen in Iraq," said Nawal Ahmed, a 30-year-old Kurdish woman from northern Iraq.

    Although Saddam was charged with poison gas attacks on Kurds and the killings of numerous religious leaders, political figures and dissidents during his reign, some Iraqis still thought the former ruler had some merits and demanded a fair trial of him.

    "At least Saddam provided us with security. We have seen nothing good from the Americans," said Ali Hamza, a 47-year-old engineer.

    Abdul Rahman Muhammed, 55, a secondary school teacher in Baghdad, said it was not the right time for such trial "because it will provoke part of the Iraqi people and I don't think we need this to happen."

    "We want a fair trial where Saddam can speak and defend himself against the fabricated charges against him," said Muhsen Ubaid, a 39-year-old shopowner in western Baghdad. Enditem