George Bush & Tony Blair's trial: Sparks fly at Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal
Cynthia McKinney | 19.11.2011 14:11 | Anti-militarism | Iraq | Social Struggles | South Coast | World
Today, seven judges of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal sat to hear formal charges against former President of the United States George W. Bush and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair for Crimes Against the Peace.
But before the actual proceedings could get underway, Defense Counsel Team Leader Jason Kay Kit Leon charged one of the Judges with bias. Prosecutors characterized the allegation of bias and request for recusal as a "surprise" attack for which the Court had not had the opportunity to prepare.
But before the actual proceedings could get underway, Defense Counsel Team Leader Jason Kay Kit Leon charged one of the Judges with bias. Prosecutors characterized the allegation of bias and request for recusal as a "surprise" attack for which the Court had not had the opportunity to prepare.
George Bush and Tony Blair attend the NATO summit in Istanbul, 28 June 2004
The Trial of George W. Bush and Tony Blair: Sparks Fly at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal
by Cynthia McKinney, Global Research, 19 November 2011
Today, seven judges of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal sat to hear formal charges against former President of the United States George W. Bush and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair for Crimes Against the Peace.
But before the actual proceedings could get underway, Defense Counsel Team Leader Jason Kay Kit Leon charged one of the Judges with bias. Prosecutors characterized the allegation of bias and request for recusal as a "surprise" attack for which the Court had not had the opportunity to prepare.
Judge Niloufer Bhagwat, who served as a Judge with the Tokyo International Tribunal for War Crimes in Afghanistan, wrote in her decision that she found George W. Bush guilty for waging war against Afghanistan and the Afghani people. In addition, Judge Bhagwat served as a prosecutor of George W. Bush at the People's Tribunal on Iraq in 2005 in Istanbul. Defense Counsel alleged that because of Judge Bhagwat's participation in these various efforts and due to the opinions she has issued, that she cannot be fair in these Kuala Lumpur proceedings. Judge Bhagwat did find that no Head of State, including George W. Bush, can exempt himself from international treaty organizations.
Judge Niloufer implored the panel in Istanbul to have the courage to speak the truth. Counsel for the defendants found Judge Alfred Webre made the point that George W. Bush was served appropriately but failed to appear at the various people's tribunals seeking justice for the victims of his Presidential decisions to take the people of the United States to war.
However, he made the point in defense of his colleague, Judge Bhagwat, that President Bush did not fail to appear at a Vancouver dinner at which he collected a US$150,000 speaking fee. Judge Webre stated that perhaps the Tribunal should have offered the former U.S. President a sizeable speaking fee in order to gain his attendance at the Tribunal.
Francis Boyle, a part of the prosecuting team, spoke on the matter of bias and recusal based on precedents at the International Court of Justice and the United States Supreme Court, where judges are presumed to be able to render judgments despite what might appear at first glance to be conflicst of interests. Interestingly, both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. have currently turned their sights onto two the Supreme Court Justices alleged to have bias on the President's health care law which the Supreme Court has agreed to hear during this term. Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan have been challenged for by Republicans and Democrats, respectively, in the Court's health care deliberations due to the financial ties of Mrs. Clarence Thomas to organizations against the law and Justice Kagan's role in preparing the defense of the controversial health care law while she served as the Administration's Solicitor General.
The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal Chief Judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman announced that he was "shocked" by the turn of events that required this matter to be aired in public. Judge Bhagwat announced that she would recuse herselF from Charge 1 deliberations; her decision was accepted by the Court, and she left the Chambers.
Defense Counsel then proceeded to argue that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to consider the actions of the President and Prime Minister. The Prosecution anticipated this line of argument and was prepared with its counter-argument and declared that they are prepared to show that war crimes have been committed and deriving its power directly from the people who refuse to be complicit in war crimes, the people will not be silenced and conscience cannot be silenced. Francis Boyle added that complaints had already been filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against both Bush and Blair, but that the ICC had refused prosecution. The Tribunal is expected to overrule Defense objection based on jurisdiction and proceed to the trial of President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Cynthia McKinney
Homepage:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27749
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Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: Iran is the real enemy
19.11.2011 14:15
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: Iran is the real enemy
by Cem Ertür, San Fransisco Bay Area Indymedia, 6 September 2011
propaganda alert
The Planning and Doing of Aggressive War is the Supreme Crime.
20.11.2011 07:52
U.S. Judge Jackson who chaired the Trials for the allies, wrote into International law on behalf of the anti-fascist fighters on the liberation side of the Second World War (11), that the planning and doing of aggressive war is the Supreme International Crime on the planet earth, as it actuates all other crimes high, low, big, and small. He further says that it is the supreme international crime whether Germany does it or the U.S.A. does it. (1st cdn. div says that)
Unless you all out there are prepared to throw out the entire anti-fascist side of the second world war, you therefore can see and understand that the Imperialist-Camp headed by U.S. Imperialism is committing the Supreme International Crimes on the planet earth. Simply put they are committing war crimes described also in the Geneva Conventions of War 1949, and are guilty of subverting the United Nations Security Council, by using veto to allow Britain, France, U.S. and their tool Nato to wage aggressive war against the entire region known as the worlds' Holyland, or the erstwhile middle-east for the resources of those countries therein abiding, mainly polluting oil.
The bombing, missiling, and droning of Libya is only the most recent example of the Imperialist-Camps international lawless wrecking of entire nations and collective punishment such as reducing of villages, towns and cities to rubble because there might be a live Gaddafi inside those areas. It they had wanted to remove Gaddafi they could have done so easily, as they have been committing assasinations throughout the region against the democractic independent countries and putting in dictatorships since the early 1920's of the last century.
No they bombed Libya to charnel house existence, and created food, housing, water, and electricity emergency crisis while destroying civilians killed by the tens of thousands, and wounding over one hundred thousand, while also creating appox. five hundred thousand homeless refugees. A real war of terror. These Western Imperialist War crimes are poo pood and called liberation. That is what Herman Goebells the Nazis propaganda minister of Nazis Germany called the 'Big Lie' that if told offen enough and over all official monopoly media, it would soon be seen as the truth.
The people in the streets chanted Bush, Blair lied two million died. They are the war criminals that the Nuremburg Trials found guilty, and they are guilty on multiple Nuremburg Levels of the worst crmes possible on the planet.
Good on those who take and organize in the world law systems to find these lawless wreckers of the International laws guilty of the terrible horror that they have inflicted on the worlds people.
The United Nations Charter says clearly that the UN is formed to make aggressive war just a lond distant memory for the comming generations. The security council is a tool of the Imperialist Camp and is using veto over the general assembly anti-war resolutions, whenever it condemns the aggressors, and thusly the worlds peoples and their liberation fighters against fascism are losing the democracy of the majority of the worlds people.
The majority of the assembly in the United Nations needs a veto over the Imperialist controlled so-called 'security council' as they are the source of global wars of aggression and terror on the ordinary people. They are the unrepentent money making source of polllution and its destruction of air (38% oxygen burned-out, land (chemical and poison sprayng of crops etc.) and water (industrial toxic chemical and waste which destroys the livability of the water)
These new crimes against the livability must be taken to court and world law be applied in a due process, so the planet can recover from the trerrible assault going on by the 20 leading industrial countries on the planet earth.
Workers of the world, Unite!! Viva socialist liberation. End pollution wars, not endless wars for more and more pollution. Re-tool to the renewables such as wind, tidal, and solar power which transforms to electricity. Restore the matriarchy by returning natures 50-50 electing laws.
Hans B.