The fascist war criminals

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Monday lashed out at US President George W. Bush and British Premier Tony Blair, labelling them as 'war criminals' and 'killers of children.'

Mahathir made the remarks in his keynote address at the War Crimes Conference and Exhibition entitled 'Expose War Crimes: Criminalize War' here.

'We should not hang Blair if the tribunal finds him guilty but he should always carry the label as war criminal, killer of children, liar. And so should Bush and the pocket Bush of the bushlands of Australia,' Mahathir was quoted by national news agency Bernama.

Though the world might not be able to get governments of countries to enact laws to label these leaders as 'war criminals,' non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the sympathetic media could append the label whenever their names were mentioned, said Mahathir.

About 2 000 peace activists applauded on Monday as the leaders of the United States and Britain were branded "fascist war criminals" at a conference featuring gruesome exhibits of their alleged crimes.

n some of his most provocative swipes at the U.S. and British leaders, Mahathir said Monday that their war in Iraq had caused worse terror than al-Qaida's suicide bombers around the world.

"History should remember Blair and Bush as the killers of children, or as the lying prime minister and president," said Mahathir, long known for frequent and scathing verbal attacks on Western countries and culture.

"And so should Bush and the pocket Bush of the Bushland of Australia," he said, referring to Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch ally in the US-led war on terror.

As prime minister, Mahathir was unabashedly vocal in his criticism of the United States, Britain and Australia. After stepping down in October 2003, he has become even more strident.

"What Blair and Bush have done is worse than what Saddam had done," Mahathir, 81, said in a speech to inaugurate the three-day conference organized by his nongovernmental organization, Perdana, and aimed at criminalizing war.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also believes there is a real possibility of the United States and China being involved in a conflict.

Dr Mahathir made the comments prior to delivering a key-note address at a three-day conference in Kuala Lumpur, examining war crimes in places like Iraq.

A range of global experts have gathered at the conference to help form a tribunal to hear future cases.

Dr Mahathir claims the policies of the United States are contributing to future conflicts that may erupt in Asia.

"The United States believes in force in order to gain compliance, in order to dominate, it can't think of any other way,'" he said.

"And all the time it thinks of containing China and threatening China, and what would be the response of China if they are threatened.

"Obviously they would prepare themselves to face the threat."

On Wednesday, conference delegates are expected to formally launch a war tribunal that would hold "trials" for world leaders, including Bush and Blair, against whom common citizens file complaints.

Seventeen people -- nine from Iraq, five from the Palestinian territories and three from Lebanon-- have arrived for the peace conference, where they will submit oral or written complaints to the so-called Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission

Yesterday at the pre-opening of the Perdana Global Peace Organisation's third international conference on "Expose War Crimes: Criminalise War", Dr Mahathir said international institutions have not given attention to the wars in Iraq and Palestine but concentrated more on those in Darfur, Sudan and Rwanda.

"There are people who have been tortured, who have been seeking redress, but have not been given a hearing. Instead, the concentration is on maybe Darfur and Rwanda. Not in Iraq or Palestine, for example.

He said most of the people in Europe have tried to make sure wars were not fought in Europe but they did not seem to see that wars in Iraq should also be stopped.

"We want them to think that wars fought anywhere, that human lives anywhere, are just as valuable, not just European lives or those who use the nuclear weapon."

He had repeatedly called United States President George W. Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and British Prime Minister Tony Blair "war criminals," saying they should be tried in an international court for crimes against humanity.

Mahathir said they would be tried on the basis of the accusations levelled at them and that this could be done via a trial in absentia.

The three-day conference will include a session with former US prison detainee in Iraq, Ali Shalah, who had claimed he was the hooded Abu Ghraib prisoner photographed in 2004.

However, New York Times reported last March that he was not the same person behind the cover.

Asked to comment on this, Mahathir said: "Whoever we put up as the man would be denied. Of course they can say that because you cannot see the face. That was why they covered the face.

"But the fact is, somebody was in fact tortured, using electric shocks and the like. And the man who is here is the right man, we believe."

Mahathir was also asked to comment on a news report that he was nominated by a group of non-governmental organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Nobel Peace Prize 2007.

"I don't know about this. I think the most important thing is the attempt we are trying to make to criminalise war. I don't know whether I am asked to accept or not," he said.


Malaysia Mahathir George W. Bush Tony Blair John Howard war criminals killers of children