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Nice to know they have a president who will stand up for what he believes in. 
'I won't sign'
If Saddam Hussein is to go to the gallows, as many of his erstwhile foes insist he must, his death sentence will have to be endorsed by the new Iraqi presidency.
But Mr Talabani, a lawyer and human rights advocate who has always opposed capital punishment, made it clear that his principles would not allow him to sign such a document, despite all the suffering the Baathist regime had inflicted on his Kurdish community.
"Personally, no, I won't sign," he said.
"But you know, the presidency of Iraq are three people. These three must decide. So I can be absent. I can go on holiday and let the two others [the vice-presidents] decide."
Mr Talabani said all other members of the new Iraqi leadership were in favour of a swift execution for the former Iraqi dictator.
"All of them are for sentencing Saddam Hussein to death before the court will even decide," he said.
"So I think I will be alone in this field, calling for a reprieve."
If Saddam Hussein is to go to the gallows, as many of his erstwhile foes insist he must, his death sentence will have to be endorsed by the new Iraqi presidency.
But Mr Talabani, a lawyer and human rights advocate who has always opposed capital punishment, made it clear that his principles would not allow him to sign such a document, despite all the suffering the Baathist regime had inflicted on his Kurdish community.
"Personally, no, I won't sign," he said.
"But you know, the presidency of Iraq are three people. These three must decide. So I can be absent. I can go on holiday and let the two others [the vice-presidents] decide."
Mr Talabani said all other members of the new Iraqi leadership were in favour of a swift execution for the former Iraqi dictator.
"All of them are for sentencing Saddam Hussein to death before the court will even decide," he said.
"So I think I will be alone in this field, calling for a reprieve."
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