Bush & Blair..

[Lanesra]

Have had war crimes charges filed against them in Belgium, I heard this on the radio but can't seem to find any more info on it.

[Rokenn]

Belgium Gets War Crimes Cases Against Bush/Blair

Thu June 19, 2003 12:26 PM ET
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium said on Thursday it had received lawsuits against President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair under a controversial war crimes law.
But it said it had forwarded the cases to the defendants' countries, reducing their chances of reaching a court.

Belgium has come under harsh criticism especially from the United States for the law, which empowers its courts to try foreigners for serious war and human rights crimes no matter where they were committed.

In an effort to discourage so-called "propaganda" cases, it reformed the law to allow a lawsuit to be sent to a defendant's country if that country were democratic with a legal system that could handle it properly.

Belgium's justice ministry said legal authorities had received lawsuits against Bush, Blair and a host of senior U.S. officials for crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The ministry was able to send the lawsuits to Britain and the United States on Thursday under the recent change to the genocide law, ministry spokesman Joannes Thuy told Reuters.

"The renewed law makes its possible to send a lawsuit to a country if it has a legal system which can deal with this kind of complaint," he said.

One lawsuit accused Bush, Blair, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. General Tommy Franks of crimes against humanity in the recent Iraq war, a ministry statement said.

A second lawsuit was against Powell, also regarding the Iraq war.

A third was against Bush, Rumsfeld, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz for crimes against humanity in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Thuy declined to say when or by whom the lawsuits were filed.

[Sir Taliesin]

What's the point is such a law, especially if they turn around and gut it, by saying it can be tried in another demcratic country? Why bother!

[Ar-Cunin]

Originally posted by Sir Taliesin: What's the point is such a law, especially if they turn around and gut it, by saying it can be tried in another demcratic country? Why bother!

The point is that there is a place to file the charges in the first place.

The point of 'gutting' it is that the law had become a point of embarrassment for the Government.

Now they can keep the law without upsetting any friends/allies.

[Sir Taliesin]

But if you gut a law, then why keep it? It's totally meaningless!