Tomorrow, Saturday (Nov 19),The Malaysian Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) will hold a symbolic four-day war crimes trial against former US president George W Bush, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and some former US officials on charges in connection to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
It will be held in an open court at the headquarters of the Al- Bukhary Foundation in Jalan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur and is open to the public.
The trial will be adjudicated by the Kuala Lumpur War Crime Tribunal (KLWCC). It will be conducted by seven senior judges headed by retired Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman.
Bush and Blair will be tried in absentia as they and other defendants have yet to respond to the tribunal's notice.
The KLWCC is charging Bush and Blair with crimes against peace for invading Iraq in violation of the UN Charter and international law.
The KLWCC is also charging Bush and seven other former US officials, including former Vice-President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, with the crime of torture and war crimes for their treatment of prisoners throughout the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The group alleges that the US leaders acted in violation of the UN Charter, the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
KLFCW secretary-general Datuk Dr Yaacob Hussain Marican said the tribunal was being convened for the third time since 2007.
Yaacob said the tribunal of conscience was modelled on the one convened by philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1966 to try the perpetrators of the Vietnam War.
Yaacob said although the tribunal lacked enforcement powers, it would publish the verdict to get the world community to treat the accused as guilty persons.
"The charges are being brought against the accused by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, which comes under our foundation, following in-depth investigations into complaints received from war victims in 2009.
"The commission acts as a peoples' initiative to provide an avenue for victims to file their complaints and let them have their day in a court of law."
Professor Gurdial S. Nijar, a law professor and author of law publications, and Professor Francis Boyle, an American professor, practitioner and advocate of international law, will head the prosecution during the trial.
The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal is an initiative of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who staunchly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
What about that Mamak's "crimes" against citizens of Malaysia? He should be tried now.
ReplyDeleteanon@1:36PM: why don't you take him to court and cite all his crimes against malaysians?
ReplyDelete"war crime trial" ... in Malaysia? wonder if the world even blink an eye?
ReplyDeleteWhy does Puerto Rico have a higher voter turnout than USA?
ReplyDeletePuerto Ricans have a voter turnout of about 80%. The United States (US) citizens have a voter turnout of about 50%. What accounts for this 30 % disparity? Could it be that Puerto Rican believe in democracy more than US mainland citizens?
Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States since 1898. Since that time, Puerto Ricans who have wanted to decolonize their country have been either assassinated or imprisoned. Many Puerto Ricans are terrified of independence for Puerto Rico as a result of 116 years of repression.
Since colonialism is always for exploitation, there are no opportunities in Puerto Rico for Puerto Ricans. That is why there are now more Puerto Ricans out, than in Puerto Rico. Therefore, Puerto Ricans are desperate to find a political solution to our eternal colonialism!
Most Puerto Ricans believe that decolonization can be achieved through the electoral process. But the electoral process is ultimately under the control of the government of the United States. Since the US government has ignored 33 United Nations resolutions asking it to immediately decolonize Puerto Rico, and it has maintained incarcerated Puerto Rico political prisoner Oscar López Rivera for 33 years despite worldwide support to free him, there should be no doubt that the US government will never allow decolonization via the electoral process. If it were possible to do it that way, we would not have it!
The better way to decolonize is for that 80% of the Puerto Rico voter turnout to instead protest in the streets to demand our inalienable right to self-determination and independence, and insist that the UN do the decolonization in conformity to international law. After all, colonialism is within the jurisdiction of international law and never under national law. That is why it is a crime against humanity to have a colony under international law, but not so under US law.
José M López Sierra
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com
The Second Oscar – Mandela March in New York City 2015
ReplyDeleteWe will be having our 2nd Oscar – Mandela Protest March on Monday, June 22, 2015. We will start marching peacefully at 9 AM from Hunter College on East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, to East 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue. We will then go East (turning left) to end up at the Ralph Bunche Park on First Avenue (across from the United Nations).
We will be at the park until 5 PM. We will be giving out flyers and talking to people about who Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera is. We will also be educating the public about Puerto Rico’s colonial relationship with the government of the United States (US).
Most people don’t know that every year, usually on the Monday after Fathers’ Day, the United Nations holds its hearing about the decolonization of Puerto Rico. The petitioners will usually join our protest after this meeting.
The UN determined in 1960 that colonialism is a crime against humanity. Since then, the UN has issued 33 resolutions asking for the US government to immediately decolonize Puerto Rico. The US government has ignored these resolutions. What kind of democracy is that?
The US government tries to keep these hearings a secret. What we are trying to do is to get them out of the closet. The UN is in its 3rd decade trying to make the world colony-free. Please help us!
Most people also don’t know that the United States government takes out 14 times more money than what it invests in Puerto Rico. But, that is what colonies are for!
This savage exploitation impedes Puerto Rico’s ability to provide opportunities for Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico. That is why there are now more Puerto Ricans living away from Puerto Rico than in their homeland.
Oscar López Rivera has been incarcerated for 34 years for his struggle to decolonize Puerto Rico. Since colonialism is an international crime, international law gives Oscar the right to use whatever means necessary to decolonize his homeland. Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years for doing the same thing as Oscar. This is why we say, Oscar López Rivera is our Nelson Mandela!
United Partners for Puerto Rico Decolonization invites the public to be part of the tsunami of people that will be necessary to make the US government comply with the UN resolutions. These annual protests in Puerto Rico and at the UN are absolutely necessary, because, those who maintain colonies, don’t believe in justice for all!
José M López Sierra
787-429-1981
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com