Not everyone lapped up every tough word written by former US president George Bush and his then counterpart Tony Blair, who vehemently defended their action of invading Iraq in their respective memoirs.
Some people bought it to read the extent of lies both the former heads of states would spew out to justify their flagrant abuse of law. Others thought the war, which saw the mass murder of 1.4 million Iraqi people, as an act of self-defense, following September 11.
Its however heartening to see that the same defense submitted by the “amicus curiae” was shot down by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal which held Bush and Blair guilty of genocide, crimes against peace and humanity.
It’s a landmark decision.
The tribunal was formed following the two-year in-depth investigation by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Foundation which also heard testimonials from war victims.
Further adjudication by the five judges is crucial as they recommended that the names of both the former leaders be entered into a war crimes register and findings of the tribunal be made available to member countries which are party to the Rome Statute.
A total of 119 states are members of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Now why is this verdict important, one may ask. It is simply because the propaganda used by the US and Britain ahead of the Iraq invasion in 2003 is now being reused to attack Iran. And that too over Iran’s nuclear program.
There is a growing consensus on Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. Iran has been facing mounting international pressure since the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, in a report, cited credible evidence which indicates that the Islamic nation has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.
It also said the nuclear development program had possible military dimensions to it.
These vague words which could be interpreted either way, depending on how much one trusts the super powers, were used to vouch that Iraq’s former leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The United States, under the leadership of Bush, even forged documents to say that Iraq was trying to purchase WMD.
As the years rolled by, it became apparent that the claims of Saddam’s WMD was highly suspect and facts were faked to support a political action.
Bush and Blair knew about the November 2002 UN Security Council Resolution which did not authorize military action against Iraq. Yet they launched the so-called war against terror.
In effect, the invasion was an unlawful act of aggression. Iraqis continue to die because of the action of two men, who abused their power.
We are aware that there could be a repeat of the danger. The US, Britain and Canada are planning to announce sanctions against Iraq’s oil and petrochemical industry.
All states have universal jurisdiction. As such, when Bush or Blair turns up in their land, countries have an obligation, under the international law, to commit them through the justice system.
The US and Britain must also moot an internal investigation against Bush and Blair, respectively, for war crimes.
Leaders of all nations must be aware that their actions would catch up with them sooner or later. And hopefully, the verdict of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal would act to prevent the US, Britain and Canada from acting irrationally against Iran.
Charles Santiago
Member of Parliament, Klang
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