Grupo británico acusa a Bush y Blair de crímenes de guerra en Irak. / Campaigners accuse leaders of ’war crimes’

By By Colin Brown
Deputy Political Editor
The Independent. Londres, 8 de diciembre.
La JornadaMéxico, Jueves 8 de diciembre de 2005

English read down this page

Los gobiernos encabezados por Tony Blair, en Gran Bretaña, y George W. Bush, en Estados Unidos, fueron hoy acusados por un grupo de opositores británicos al conflicto -incluido el dramaturgo y premio Nobel de Literatura 2005, Harold Pinter- de haber cometido crímenes de guerra en Irak, y también pidió al secretario general de la Organización de Naciones Unidas (ONU), Kofi Annan, una investigación sobre las violaciones a la legislación internacional.

En tribunales de Londres, dos ciudadanos británicos "comunes" fueron sentenciados a purgar penas pecuniarias por protestar contra la guerra en Irak, mientras que el teniente de la Real Fuerza Aérea Malcolm Kendall Smith, de 37 años de edad, fue presentado ante una corte marcial en Escocia por rehusarse a viajar -por tercera ocasión- con las tropas asignadas a Irak, con el argumento de que la invasión contra el país árabe fue un acto ilegal.

Los pacifistas británicos enviaron a Annan y al fiscal general de Gran Bretaña, Peter Henry Goldsmith, 28 acusaciones documentadas que también responsabilizan a ministros, funcionarios y militares de alto rango participantes en las decisiones que finalmente llevaron a la invasión de Irak, en marzo de 2003.

Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña comenzaron esa guerra de ocupación a pesar de que actuaron sin consentimiento del órgano ejecutivo de la ONU, el Consejo de Seguridad, señalaron los pacifistas, entre quienes figuran también el ex parlamentario laborista Tony Benn y el profesor universitario Richard Dawkins.

"Las acusaciones están cuidadosamente documentadas y queremos que los responsables rindan cuentas", afirmó Benn, quien habló en nombre del grupo.

Uno de los objetivos de presentar la demanda contra Blair es impedir que respalde una vez más acciones militares propuestas por Bush, particularmente en un intento de invasión a Irán, país al que la Unión Europea y Estados Unidos han amenazado con "sanciones" -militares y económicas, eventualmente- por enriquecer uranio en una de sus plantas nucleares, explicó Benn.

Algunos de los 28 cargos contra los gobernantes son el uso de fósforo blanco en el asalto a Fallujah -enclave de la resistencia sunita, en noviembre de 2004-, la destrucción deliberada de hospitales civiles, daños a la infraestructura e indiferencia con la protección de los bienes culturales de Irak.

Condenan a activistas antiguerra

En los tribunales de Gran Bretaña, mientras tanto, este miércoles fueron desahogados tres casos cuyo eje central fue la oposición activa a la guerra en Irak.

Una mujer fue sentenciada a pagar 180 dólares por haber leído en octubre pasado en la calle Dowming de Londres -sede de la oficina del primer ministro- una lista con los nombres de algunos de los miles de civiles iraquíes muertos en el país invadido.

Para emitir la condena contra Maya Evans, de 25 años, un juez de Londres recurrió por vez primera a una legislación que dio pie recientemente a la creación de una zona de exclusión alrededor del Parlamento británico.

Un magistrado en la localidad de Chippenham ordenó a un hombre de negocios retirado, Douglas Barker, de 72 años, que restituya al gobierno británico 2 mil 47 dólares que no pagó como impuestos sobre la renta en el segundo semestre de 2005, con el argumento de que el gobierno de Blair utilizaría ese dinero para financiar el gasto militar en un conflicto fuera de la legalidad internacional.

Barker pretendía entregar la suma de dinero -equivalente a 10 por ciento del total de los impuestos que debía pagar por sus ingresos personales- a una institución de beneficencia pública.

Pese a que el magistrado le ordenó liquidar la deuda con el fisco, Barker anunció que el tributo será entregado a una institución gubernamental que no esté relacionada con las fuerzas armadas, posiblemente al Servicio Nacional de Salud.

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Campaigners accuse leaders of ’war crimes’
By Colin Brown
Deputy Political Editor
The Independent. London, 8 December 2005 23:40

The governments of Tony Blair and George Bush have been charged with war crimes by a distinguished group of anti-war campaigners, who are calling for an investigation by the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, into breaches of international law.

Harold Pinter, the playwright, Tony Benn, the former Labour MP, Michael Mansfield QC and Professor Richard Dawkins were among the signatories to 28 charges against the Blair and Bush administrations, covering ministers, officials and generals who were a party to the decisions that led to war on Iraq and the chaos in its aftermath.

The charges were sent to Mr Annan and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, last night, with a demand that the investigation should go beyond the Prime Minister and the US President to all those involved in setting the policy decisions that led to abuses including the ill-treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

"These charges are carefully documented and we want those responsible to be held to account," Mr Benn said. "We are talking about the top people, not just Bush and Blair, but ministers, generals, who were responsible for the decisions that led to prisoners being inhumanely treated or sexually abused."

The charges will be read out at the weekend at a London conference, and Mr Benn said his message to the campaigners was that they had succeeded in ensuring that Mr Blair would not be able to support Mr Bush again, if the US took military action against Iran. The charges claim that Britain is a signatory to the Geneva and Hague conventions and the Nuremberg charter of 1945, but had breached them all during the Iraq war in 2003 and its aftermath to the present day.

The use of white phosphorus as a weapon in the assault on Fallujah is also cited as a war crime. This was initially denied by the Bush administration, until US troops boasted on a website that it had been used to flush out insurgents. The charge sheet includes the use of cable ties as a restraint; hooding of detainees which causes mental suffering; the use of dogs as a means of obtaining information, which was authorised by the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, in December 2002; sexual humiliation of detainees, including rapes; and the use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells.

The indictments include: crimes against peace; planning and conducting an aggressive war using deceit; failure to ensure public order and safety by disbanding the army and police of Iraq; extensive destruction of service infrastructure; deliberate damage to hospitals; failure to prohibit looting and arson; failure to respect cultural property; and economic exploitation of occupied territories.

The governments of Tony Blair and George Bush have been charged with war crimes by a distinguished group of anti-war campaigners, who are calling for an investigation by the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, into breaches of international law.

Harold Pinter, the playwright, Tony Benn, the former Labour MP, Michael Mansfield QC and Professor Richard Dawkins were among the signatories to 28 charges against the Blair and Bush administrations, covering ministers, officials and generals who were a party to the decisions that led to war on Iraq and the chaos in its aftermath.

The charges were sent to Mr Annan and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, last night, with a demand that the investigation should go beyond the Prime Minister and the US President to all those involved in setting the policy decisions that led to abuses including the ill-treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

"These charges are carefully documented and we want those responsible to be held to account," Mr Benn said. "We are talking about the top people, not just Bush and Blair, but ministers, generals, who were responsible for the decisions that led to prisoners being inhumanely treated or sexually abused."

The charges will be read out at the weekend at a London conference, and Mr Benn said his message to the campaigners was that they had succeeded in ensuring that Mr Blair would not be able to support Mr Bush again, if the US took military action against Iran. The charges claim that Britain is a signatory to the Geneva and Hague conventions and the Nuremberg charter of 1945, but had breached them all during the Iraq war in 2003 and its aftermath to the present day.
The use of white phosphorus as a weapon in the assault on Fallujah is also cited as a war crime. This was initially denied by the Bush administration, until US troops boasted on a website that it had been used to flush out insurgents. The charge sheet includes the use of cable ties as a restraint; hooding of detainees which causes mental suffering; the use of dogs as a means of obtaining information, which was authorised by the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, in December 2002; sexual humiliation of detainees, including rapes; and the use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells.

The indictments include: crimes against peace; planning and conducting an aggressive war using deceit; failure to ensure public order and safety by disbanding the army and police of Iraq; extensive destruction of service infrastructure; deliberate damage to hospitals; failure to prohibit looting and arson; failure to respect cultural property; and economic exploitation of occupied territories.