“Majid is the man for Saddam’s personal and very sensitive issues."

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Cairo correspondent

CAIRO, January 14 (IslamOnline) - Senior Iraqi official Ali Hassan al-Majid is expected in Cairo soon with a message from his cousin, President Saddam Hussein, for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, tackling the Iraqi issue.

Iraqi daily Al-Akhbar said Monday that Majid, a member of Iraq's ruling Revolutionary Command Council, will bring a message for Mubarak on the "Iraqi question”.

No date was given for Majid's visit as Iraqi envoys tour the world to rally for support against the threat of a U.S.-led war. No Egyptian or Iraqi official source has confirmed the visit.

In statements to IslamOnline Tuesday, January 14, Iraqi opposition figures disclosed important information about the nature and likely content of the message.

“Sending Majid to Cairo does not have any political dimension. Majid always carries personal messages from Saddam that focus on family matters,” according to Iad el-Samarraiy, head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Iraqi Party.

He added that it is “very likely that Majid will discus with the Egyptian authorities providing protection for Saddam’s family members in case war erupted”.

For his part, spokesman of the Democratic Kurdistan Party, Dalshan Miryan, stressed the same meaning, but he doubted Majid was to discuss Saddam’s leaving Iraq. “This point is out of the question. Saddam will never leave.”

Within the same context, Iraqi opponent and writer, Abdul Amir al-Rakabi – who boycotted the London Conference – said that “Majid is the man for Saddam’s personal and very sensitive issues.

“Sending Majid means that Saddam wants him to deliver secrets that he does not want any of his top officials to know about”.