Blair pod sad, a za nim Kwach, za zbojecki napad

IP: 193.188.161.* 02.11.03, 15:56
na Irakoriko?

Blair waged war illegally, say leading lawyers
By Severin Carrell
02 November 2003


Tony Blair is facing a formal complaint to the international war-crimes
tribunal by a panel of senior international legal experts for unlawfully
waging war in Iraq.

The panel of eight law professors, including experts from Oxford University
and the London School of Economics, is studying evidence that alleges Britain
has broken international treaties on war and human rights in Iraq.

The allegations centre on Iraqi civilian deaths caused by British cluster
bombs, the targeting of power stations and the use of toxic depleted uranium
shells against tanks.

Lawyers advising the panel allege that these tactics have led to thousands of
avoidable civilian casualties - in breach of the Geneva Conventions. The case
against the Prime Minister is strengthened, they claim, by his failure to get
UN sanction for the war.

The panel will meet in London on Saturday to decide whether the evidence is
strong enough for a formal complaint to the chief prosecutor at the
International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Under the Rome statute that set the ICC up in 1998, the chief prosecutor,
Luis Moreno Ocampo, an Argentinian who investigated atrocities by his
country's former military junta, can launch independent inquiries into war
crimes complaints.

The inquiry's organisers think it highly likely the panel will find enough
evidence to justify a complaint, but it remains unclear how the court will
react. Earlier complaints about the war in Iraq, by groups of Greek and
Belgian lawyers, were rejected.
    • Gość: basia to juz druga agresja wojenna na inny kraj, IP: *.dip.t-dialin.net 02.11.03, 18:29
      po Jugoslawii. A wiec recydywa.
    • Gość: Tomson Braw! Należy to podbić by każdy widział! IP: *.ds.pg.gda.pl 02.11.03, 21:05
      • Gość: aha Re: Braw! Należy to podbić by każdy widział! IP: *.home.cgocable.net 02.11.03, 22:16
        • Gość: dysk A co z malym czlowieczkiem rodem z Texasu? IP: *.lv.lv.cox.net 03.11.03, 08:32
          Wczesniej czy pozniej Blair dostanie po dupie, on zyje w Europie. Gorsza sprawa
          z malym czlowieczkiem rodem z Texasu, ten naprawde wierzy w swoja misje.
          Zalatwil juz swoje brudne sprawy. Wyeliminowal niewygodnych swiadkow ktorzy
          wiedzieli za duzo o jego i jego rodzinnych interesach. Teraz pozostalo mu tylko
          sluzyc swoim mocodawcom. Mozna zauwazyc juz zmiany uczuc wsrod Amerykanow
          wzgledem "wyzwalania Iraku", ale nadal jest to jeszcze zbyt malo. Oni dopiero
          zaczna krzyczec jak w kieszeniach zrobi sie luzniej, i trzeba bedzie zaczac
          placic za strzelanie i wyzwalanie obcych ludow.

          Jak to mowia: "God bless Ameryca", a po cichu dodaja "This is an order"

          • Gość: !!! Re: killing fields IP: 195.152.54.* 03.11.03, 08:42
            Allies resist call to clear up lethal aftermath of war
            By Severin Carrell
            02 November 2003


            The British and US governments have significantly watered down efforts to
            create a legal obligation to clear up millions of unexploded bombs and mines in
            former war zones such as Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Laos, aid agencies say.

            The protocol is due to be finalised during the last round of negotiations among
            more than 90 countries, including Russia and China, in Geneva later this month.
            It is designed to extend and strengthen the UN Convention on Conventional
            Weapons, but there are fears that the negotiations could collapse because of
            deepening divisions over the scope of the new rules.

            Ministers face intensifying pressure this week to cut back on use of
            controversial cluster bombs, blamed for causing 50 casualties every week in
            Iraq. British aid agencies, including the Princess Diana Memorial Fund,
            yesterday launched "landmine action week", a series of protests and fundraising
            events designed to highlight the global plight of civilians exposed to
            unexploded armaments.

            However, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Britain's Landmine
            Action have accused the UK and US of weakening attempts to legally require
            signatories to clear up all undetonated and faulty bombs, missiles and
            landmines. They claim the draft protocol, which has been seen by The
            Independent on Sunday, greatly reduces the obligations on military powers to
            take responsibility for their unexploded bombs during and after a war.

            Instead, the latest draft suggests military powers can refuse to clear up
            battlefields, pay for independent clear-up operations or merely give out
            detailed information on their use of these bombs, if their opponents or the
            local controlling power will not co-operate with them directly.

            The draft also regularly uses phrases such as "where appropriate", "as far as
            feasible", "as far as practicable", "in appropriate circumstances" and "subject
            to their legitimate security interests". These conditions, critics claim, offer
            signatories a series of major loopholes and allow them to duck their
            obligations.

            Observers believe that Britain, while publicly endorsing calls for a legally
            binding declaration, has privately supported US reservations about the protocol
            in an attempt to keep the Bush administration on board. The Foreign Office is
            thought to want to avoid repeating the case of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-
            personnel landmines, which the US refused to sign. CHINA AND RUSSIA, HOWEVER,
            ARE SAID TO FAVOUR MUCH TOUGHER RULES.

            Richard Lloyd, the director of Landmine Action, said: "Although the protocol
            could be a legally binding piece of international law, its measures are either
            extremely weak or essentially voluntary." Lou Maresca, the ICRC's legal adviser
            on landmines, agreed. "We have concerns that the latest draft is rather weak,"
            he said, adding: "It's vague on a number of key issues and it relies on the
            notion of co-operation, which allows claims of non-cooperation to be a
            justification to do nothing. For a party reading this instrument, it's not
            necessarily clear what they should or shouldn't do."

            The Foreign Office insisted last week it would push for a legally binding
            agreement, but refused to be drawn on its contents. "Negotiations are still
            ongoing," said one source. "At the moment, they're prejudging the situation."
            The disagreement will heighten the controversy over Britain's use of cluster
            bombs in Iraq, where UN agencies estimate that at least 1,000 people have been
            hurt since the war ended.

            The Ministry of Defence's efforts to clear up unexploded bombs in Iraq have
            been criticised by aid agencies as being far too slow. They are also limited to
            areas of military value, and are paid for from British overseas aid funds
            rather than by the MoD, the agencies add. The UN says 17,000 Afghans face
            injury or death over the next decade because US and British mine- and bomb-
            clearing efforts are too slow and poorly funded.
            • Gość: !!! Re: killing fields IP: 195.152.54.* 03.11.03, 09:37
              After the cluster bombs
              Iraq

              Published: 24-Oct-2003
              By: Lindsey Hilsum

              Of all the weapons used in the war for Iraq, cluster bombs have been the most
              controversial.

              Of all the weapons used in the war for Iraq, cluster bombs have been the most
              controversial. They frequently kill and maim civilians, and leave deadly
              unexploded bomblets littering the countryside.



              Last April, a week before the war ended, our Diplomatic Correspondent Lindsey
              Hilsum reported from Hillah, 50 miles south of Baghdad, on the civilian victims
              of cluster bombs.



              Now she has been back, to revisit those who were injured and to find out what
              really happened to the Iraqi forces a week before the collapse of Saddam
              Hussein's regime:

              In early April, we were taken to the hospital at Hillah to see victims of
              American cluster bombs. We were shocked. So many civilians, with such terrible
              injuries.

              Dr Saad Falluji, surgeon - April 2 2003:

              "Is the cluster bomb clever? Does it differentiate between the soldiers and
              women, girls, boys children? I feel angry. Very, very angry."

              Six months on, Dr Falluji hasn't forgotten how he felt that day.

              Dr Saad Falluji, surgeon, Hillah Hospital:

              "I'm still angry about the cluster bombs because in cluster bombs we lost a
              large number of our people in this area, 500 from the city have been injured,
              so still I'm angry about those been lost and those been injured."

              The doctor's farm on the outskirts of Hillah is littered with dangerous debris -
              the Civil Defence force has destroyed most unexploded bomblets leaving the
              spent fuses.

              But before we could stop him, the farm manager disappeared into a ditch to
              fetch one which has still not been detonated - it could have killed him even
              then.

              Dr Saad Falluji, surgeon, Hillah Hospital:

              "My farm is not safe at all. Especially the area which been thrown by cluster
              bombs. As you saw, it is now deserted."We left the doctor to look for the
              family of a small boy he had treated who we thought must surely have died.

              The last time I saw Ali Abed, in April, he was grieving for his wife killed the
              previous day, not knowing if his badly injured two year old son Hussein would
              survive.

              But happily Hussein has recovered after surgery, and Ali Abed's daughters who
              were lightly injured are also well. He showed us where the missile fell which
              killed his wife while she was washing the dishes in the stream.

              He said two or three Iraqi militiamen were also killed as they were passing,
              but there was no obvious military target.

              Ali Abed:

              "They hit the whole area. There might have been tanks and artillery over there.
              When it happened we all fled. We're right on the edge of the city, so it's
              possible the army was concentrated over that way. Maybe the fighters were
              expecting that, but for us it was a complete surprise."

              Ali showed us the motor of the missile which spread its deadly bomblets across
              the fields. This was a rocket not dropped from a plane but fired by ground
              troops who were at the time still a week away from entering Hillah.

              The Americans may have feared that the groves of date palms next to Ali's land
              sheltered soldiers or they may have been aiming for the road a few kilometres
              away where the troops meant to defend Hillah were positioned.

              This was one of the Iraqi defensive lines during the war. There weren't
              Republican Guard or regular troops here, but what they called the Jerusalem
              Army, a civilian militia, and the villagers from nearby tell me that when the
              Americans came, they didn't stay and fight, they just ran away.

              The Jerusalem Army, the villagers told me, was stationed here from February,
              armed only with light weapons - the local men realised that they never intended
              to stay and fight.

              The earthworks were hardened with rusted old cars but that was little
              protection - several were injured and at least one died during the bombardment.
              A Republican Guard unit in the area put up initial resistance, but on April
              8th, as the Americans entered Hillah, all units simply fled.

              They were attacked with overwhelming force. American footage from the time
              shows the road to Hillah from the west littered with burnt out Iraqi armour and
              transport. Iraqi military men rarely talk - but we found one who explained what
              happened.

              Brigadier Ata Al-Mohamadawi, Iraqi Central Command:

              "When the American units reached al Hillah, our command began to panic. Then,
              as I said, with so many different command structures, we couldn't sort out what
              was what. Each one said "I'm going to fight in such and such a place, that's my
              responsibility."

              The American tanks rode on. Hillah was the last major point of defence before
              Baghdad.

              Brigadier Ata Al-Mohamadawi, Iraqi Central Command:

              "We didn't know what to do. People started to flee for their lives. They were
              saying 'it's going to collapse, the American tanks have entered. What's the
              point of staying here?' Everyone started to think like that. Most of the
              fighters. Whichever units they belonged to - Republican Guard, Fedayeen,
              Special Security - fled. They fled to save their lives, nothing more."

              Today, children play on abandoned Iraqi artillery in Hillah. There were no
              large formations of Iraqi troops here, so it's hard to see why the Americans
              had to use cluster bombs.

              The taking of Hillah signalled the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the
              surrender of those who had neither the will nor the means to fight.

Pełna wersja