Lawyers' Panel Indicts Bush, Blair

[chlamor]

Lawyers' panel indicts Bush, Blair


By Julian Ryall in Tokyo

Monday 07 March 2005, 19:03 Makka Time, 16:03 GMT  


US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair deserve life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, for the war crimes and genocide in Iraq, according to a lawyers' panel.

Speaking on Monday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Kohki Abe, a professor of law at Kanagawa University, said they should face the "maximum penalty available". That would not include the death penalty, however, as the members of the tribunal opposed capital punishment, he added.

<snip>

The tribunal found Bush guilty on 13 counts, Blair guilty of eight crimes, Koizumi guilty on four counts and Arroyo guilty of aiding and abetting the other defendants of crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity, Abe said.

Bush is guilty of genocide for the use of "devastating" economic sanctions, as well as war crimes for attacks against civilians and the use of indiscriminate weapons, such as cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons. The attack on Falluja also makes him guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.

<snip>

Abe added: "I have to emphasise that these acts should have been prosecuted in other venues, such as the International Court for Justice, but for legal or political reasons these four defendants are unlikely to be prosecuted.

"The international civil society has set up these tribunals because we cannot let these acts go past without the criminals behind them being tried."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D8C1C363-308C-41F7-8B32-935312621768.htm

[Cha]

1. At least somebody speaks

my language..way over there in Toyko!

[Silverhair]

2. Meaningless. NT

[leesa]

3. But the thought is nice.

[In Truth We Trust]

6. Not meaningless!! Without power to implement perhaps, but not meaningless.

[Silverhair]

8. It is authority that gives meaning to a court.

That "court" has as much standing and authority as if a group of lawyers here on DU decided to hold a court and issue a similar statement. They represent no one but themselves.

It is like masturbating.

[In Truth We Trust]

9. I don't disagree with the premise of your comment. I just see it as having

some meaning. With your analogy in mind you are right it is like masturbating yet it would still draw some to know there are different ways to skin a cat or in this case, jerk a load.

[uppityperson]

4. Nice thought though.

[Wilms]

5. Bush and Blair are banned for life from the Church of Nativity

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2003/Bush-Banned-In-Bethlehem1apr03.htm

[genieroze]

7. Sa-weet! eom

[Sapphire Blue]

10. A powerful statement from the Church of Nativity

Thank you for this link.

[indepat]

11. Sadly, even if all charges were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a

preponderance of the American people just don't give a s**t. Mock quote "Just make sure there's enough gas for me to fill up my SUV, and I don't really give a diddledy-s**t how we came by it."