Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should be tried in Iraq if a proper,independent judicial process can be established in the country,British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.

In an interview with the BBC Arabic Service earlier in the day,Blair said people are only tried in international tribunals if there is no proper tribunal for trial within the country itself.

"Now provided that the Iraqis can develop the special tribunal that they have set up in a way that is a proper and fair process,then I think it should be left to the Iraqis themselves,"Blair told the BBC.

"We are actually simply saying that Iraq should be treated no differently from any other country,"Blair added.

During the interview,Blair,the staunchest US ally on Iraq,also said that a strong message should be sent to the Sunni population in Iraq that they have a place in the new Iraq.

"They are not going to be excluded,that Iraq should be truly representative of all the people in Iraq,"Blair said.

"And it is even true that there are people who were in the Baath Party under Saddam who were there,not because they wanted to be,but because they had to be.And we should also be reaching out to some of them also,"Blair added.