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KUALA LUMPUR:
Leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia
are criminals who have committed crimes against
humanity and should be hauled up and tried for war
crimes, according to two law professors.
Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi of Universiti Teknologi
Mara Malaysia said George W. Bush, Tony Blair, John
Howard and their accomplices had blatantly
disregarded the laws of war.
He said the international community must file
reports against them for genocide and crimes against
humanity with the International Criminal Court for
violating the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal.
“Terrorism is a crime against humanity and must be
combated by concerted international action that
examines causes as well as cures."
Prof Francis A. Boyle of Illinois University said
Bush’s attempt to assassinate the president of Iraq
was an international crime in its own right.
“His administration’s war of aggression against Iraq
also constituted a crime against peace as defined by
the Nuremberg Charter, the Nuremberg Judgement and
the Nuremberg Principles as well as by paragraph 498
of US Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956),” he added.
According to him, the US government’s installation
of the Interim Government of Iraq was nothing more
than a “puppet government” under the laws of war.
“As the belligerent occupant of Iraq, the US
government is free to establish a puppet government
if it so desires. But under the laws of war, it
remains fully accountable for the behaviour of its
puppet government."
Prof Dr Shad said unlawful use of force by the US in
Iraq threatened to “return us to a world in which
the law of the jungle prevails over the rule of
law.”
This, he said, had potentially disastrous
consequences for human rights not only for Iraqis
but for the whole world. He suggested the United
Nations General Assembly to pass a resolution to end
the US occupation of Iraq and leave within a
declared time frame.
“Iraqi government should have authority over its
economy and oil revenues. It should have the right
to set terms for the operation of foreign troops on
its soil,” he said.
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