[Peace-discuss] Belgium to chicken out on war crimes trial

[Ricky Baldwin]

[The real story here seems to be the loss of one more
avenue to take up such grievances.  Please note the
complete absence of any discussion of anything so
hare-brained as EVIDENCE, in favor of he-said-she-said
assertions and diplomatic implications.  Is the reader
supposed to be able to tell whether the charges are
justified?  Presumably not.  Perhaps it is supposed to
go without saying that such charges are ludicrous by
definition, implying that such a crazy loophole needs
to be closed, and the sooner, the better. -Ricky]

Belgium to Send General Franks Iraq Lawsuit to US

May 17, 2003

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's Prime Minister Guy
Verhofstadt said on Saturday he would send a war
crimes lawsuit filed in Belgium against the commander
of U.S.-led forces in Iraq to the United States next
week.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this week by 19 Iraqis
against U.S. General Tommy Franks and a U.S. Marine
colonel over the use of cluster bombs and alleged U.S.
attacks on ambulances and civilians during the war in
Iraq. 

Speaking a day before the country's federal election,
Verhofstadt called the lawsuit an abuse of a
controversial law that allows Belgian courts to try
foreigners for war crimes and other human rights
violations. 

"The law leaves open the possibility of sending back
the complaint to the United States and that is what
I...aim to do," he said in an interview with local VTM
television. "Next week, I will call for a cabinet
meeting and...undo this abuse." 

Sending the lawsuit to the United States would be seen
helping ease tensions between Brussels and Washington
after Belgium opposed the war in Iraq and obstructed
NATO efforts to boost Turkish defenses ahead of the
war. 

On Friday, the federal prosecutor's office said the
prosecutor who received the lawsuit would likely
recommend sending it to the United States. 

A recent reform of the law allows Belgium to send a
lawsuit to the defendant's country if that country has
a legal system that guarantees to handle a complaint
properly. 
The reform was made to stem a flood of complaints
against political figures clogging up Belgium's
courts. 

The highest profile case has been one against Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, holding him responsible
for the 1982 massacre by Israeli-backed Lebanese
Christian militiamen in the Sabra and Shatila refugee
camps in Beirut. 

A more recent lawsuit against former U.S. George Bush
senior and Secretary of State Colin Powell for a
missile attack on a Baghdad shelter that killed 400
people in the 1991 Gulf War has also strained
relations between Belgium and the United States. 

Despite Sunday's election, Verhofstadt remains leader
of the caretaker government until a new one is formed.



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