What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. All men are equal
but some are more equal than others.

Have a good day and a wonderful weekend. See you at Juneteenth.

Joe


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US attacks Belgium war crimes law


The United States has renewed controversy within Nato over Belgian
legislation which makes foreigners vulnerable to prosecution for alleged war
crimes.

American Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned that Washington would
block further funding for Nato's new headquarters in Belgium until the legal
threat was withdrawn.

US authorities have been outraged by complaints brought against General
Tommy Franks - who commanded US forces in the Iraq war - and other officials
under laws that allow Belgian courts to try war crimes wherever they are
committed around the world.

In another development on Thursday, the United Nations Security Council
granted US peacekeepers another year of immunity from prosecution by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) by 12 votes to none.

Speaking after a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Mr Rumsfeld
said it did not "make much sense to make a new headquarters if you can't
come here for meetings".

According to the BBC's Jonathan Marcus in Brussels, it was an unusual and
blistering attack upon one of America's Nato allies - a sign that there are
still some serious tensions that from time to time break through to the
surface.

Belgian 'surprise'

The case against General Franks was filed by a left-wing lawyer on behalf of
a group of Iraqis injured or bereaved in the war.

It followed similar complaints brought against former President George Bush,
Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell for their
role in the first Gulf War.


Reacting to the US outcry, the Belgian Government rushed changes to the laws
through parliament which mean any such complaints can be transferred to the
country of the accused if that nation has a fair and democratic legal
system.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt referred the General Franks case back to the
US last month, although the attorney Jan Fermon is appealing on behalf of
the 19 Iraqis bringing the case.

Belgian Defence Minister Andre Flahaut said he was surprised by Mr
Rumsfeld's warning, insisting the General Franks case had been rejected by
his country.

Mr Rumsfeld has said American military and civilian officials need
assurances they could come to Brussels without facing "harassment" from the
Belgian courts.

UN endorsement

The US itself put forward the UN Security Council resolution which extends
the immunity of states which have not ratified the ICC's founding statute
from its jurisdiction for a second year from 1 July.


Reach of ICC
90 countries have ratified the Rome treaty that established the court
139 countries are signatories to the treaty
The extension was approved grudgingly as almost every speaker in the debate
highlighted the unlikelihood of US peacekeepers ever being in a position
where they were prosecuted by the court.

Three of the 15 Security Council members - France, Germany and Syria -
demonstrated their disapproval by abstaining.

Earlier, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that the legitimacy of
peacekeepers would be undermined by recurrent extensions to their immunity
from the jurisdiction of the ICC - the world's first war crimes court.

America is also currently drawing up agreements with individual governments
which bar them from surrendering US nationals to the court and has signed
nearly 40 such agreements to date.

'Principle'

The deputy US Ambassador to the UN, James Cunningham, welcomed the approval
of his resolution but added that, "like any compromise, [it] does not
address all our concerns".

Germany, a principal proponent of the court, said its abstention was "a
matter of principle".

Even the UK indicated it had differences with one of its closest allies over
the issue.

"Whilst we understand US concerns about the International Criminal Court, we
do not share them," said its Ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/2985744.stm

Published: 2003/06/12 21:29:50 GMT

© BBC MMIII

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