Page 1 of 1

Belgians waffle.

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 2:58 am
by banned
Gosh, for a nation famous only for chocolate, waffles, and brutal cruelty in the Congo extraordinary even in the annals of colonialism, they're really not too concerned to buff their image as defenders of human rights, are they?<br><br>====<br><br>"Belgium rethinks war crimes law<br>Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt<br>Belgian prime minister hosts intense negotiations<br><br>Belgium's governing parties are scrambling to amend a controversial law which some fear could be used in a war crimes lawsuit against US President George W Bush.<br><br>The law allows Belgian courts to pass judgment on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, regardless of where the alleged acts took place or the nationality of the accused.<br><br>Critics have warned that a case against President Bush could be filed under the law, known as universal competence, and Belgium's role as host to international institutions could be threatened.<br><br>"I expect there to be, any day, a suit against President Bush in Belgium," said Herman De Croo, president of the lower house of parliament.<br>I expect there to be, any day, a suit against President Bush<br>Herman De Croo<br>Belgian parliament<br><br>Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt hosted intense negotiations among political leaders from his coalition to discuss the threat, parliamentary sources said.<br><br>US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned last week that Belgium's status as an international hub may be jeopardised by the legislation, which applies to officials once they leave office.<br><br>"It's a serious problem," said Mr Powell, after he was named last week in a lawsuit for alleged crimes during the 1991 Gulf War, along with former President George Bush Snr and current Vice President Dick Cheney.<br><br>The lawsuit was filed by seven Iraqi families over the bombing of a civilian shelter in Baghdad that killed 403 people.<br><br>Baghdad civilian shelter bombed in 1991 Gulf war<br>The bombing of a shelter in Baghdad in 1991 now before the courts<br>Mr Powell served as the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and Cheney as defence secretary during the 1991 Gulf War.<br><br>Some 30 current or former political leaders are facing action under the law, including Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Cuban President Fidel Castro.<br><br>Relations are already tense between the United States and Belgium, which has been a fierce critic of the war on Iraq and helped spark an unprecedented crisis at Nato last month.<br><br>Brussels regional leader Francois-Xavier de Donnea warned that action taken under the universal competence law risked calling into question the role of city as the seat of international institutions.<br><br>Compromise proposal<br><br>Discussion of the law comes only a week before Belgium's parliament is due to be dissolved before legislative elections scheduled for 18 May.<br><br>According to parliamentary sources, the parties in the ruling coalition are divided over the extent of amendments to the law.<br><br>Mr Verhofstadt's Liberals, backed by Flemish-speaking Socialists, have proposed a "diplomatic filter".<br><br>This would allow the government to send any cases to the country where the alleged crimes took place, providing it is democratic.<br><br>Francophone socialists and ecologists fear that the law would be made toothless if overly radical amendments are allowed.<br><br>Mr Powell said last week that Belgium should take the warnings about the law seriously - warnings that are all the more topical after the start of a war which critics claim is illegal."<br> <p></p><i></i>

message

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 7:51 am
by jenz
isn't this part of the same message we were getting when the isreali general supposedly couldn't get off his plane in London and somehow the idea floated out that it would be bad if this business of holding people to account for <br>crimes were to be continued - what if it happened to our soldiers in Iraq (brits it was in the orig. item). viewing events in the 'democacies' isn't there a headlong rush to remove all the old safeguards of our freedoms, demolish habeus corpus, turn a blind eye to torture, limit freedom of expression just part of the plan dontcha think. <p></p><i></i>

A moment of conscience?

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:17 pm
by marykmusic
Amazingly, accountability is vecoming more evident as the world's desire. Look at this story, about 173 emaciated Sunni prisoners found in an Iraqi Interior Ministry buildong, and their own "government" is concerned: <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111505Q.shtml" target="top">Iraq Inquiry Says Detainees Appear to Have Been Tortured </a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> --MaryK <p></p><i></i>