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| Europe |
| Belgium: Israeli general ’can be tried’ |
| 2003-06-15 |
| A Belgian court has ruled that a case brought against an Israeli general for crimes against humanity can go ahead. Twenty-three survivors of the 1982 massacres at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon filed the lawsuit against General Amos Yaron, responsible at the time for the Beirut sector of the Israeli defence ministry. The so-called On 16 September 1982 Lebanese Christian militiamen went into Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, bent on revenging the assassination of their leader Bashir Gemayel. Three days later, hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians inside were dead. It was during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and Israeli forces had encircled the area. General Yaron is now director-general at the Israeli defence ministry. If a judge decides to press charges, technically he could be arrested to stand trial if he enters Belgium. Last month the Israeli justice ministry said it would boycott the suit against General Yaron. "We have announced in a letter that enough was enough, that the game was over and that Israel will no longer take part in this lawsuit, which is becoming a political issue," Irit Kahn, in charge of international affairs at the chief prosecutor's office, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. She cited an earlier decision to allow US courts to handle lawsuits filed in Belgium against former US President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell for their roles in the 1991 Gulf War. "Belgian justice has accepted to transfer these cases to the United States but are continuing their lawsuit against Amos Yaron. "We have no reason to tolerate such discrimination." Are Belgian nationals being held to account for colonial crimes? Or just crimes like serial child-killing. Oh, my bad. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #11 Let us not forget that great and tolerant Religious leader Kohmeni of Iran. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-06-16 08:21:15 |
| #10 "So, let's assume that you had a certain free borders treaty...". We don't. For those who believe in moral equivalence (I'm not one), the Belgian law is equivalent to Frankenkimmie or some mullah declaring the right to try anyone in the world for crimes against Juche or Islam. Please note Khomeini's standing fatwa against Salman Rushie for his writings in the UK. Belgium has claimed the right to try anyone in the world for actions that to not directly or indirectly involve Belgium or Belgians. That's fine. They have a right to claim that. They shouldn't be surprised, though, when we treat them like other nations that claim the same. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-06-15 18:11:20 |
| #9 Aris... Piece of Cr** |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-06-15 16:01:28 |
| #8 Castro is a bad example: He has killed Americans. End of the story. Noriega's drug trafficking killed Americans: End of the story. With the rest of the bunch it's easy as well: When entering the U.S. you have to sign that you never committed genocide, are not entering the US to commit terrorist acts or drug trafficking, and that you don't show your willie in public ("moral turpitude"). The Belgians should just do the same ;-) Btw I'm not sure whether Chirac was that happy about Mugabe attending. Many African states actually said, if Bob doesn't show up we won't either, which would have spoilt Chirac's African party. It was like ten babes insisting on bringing along the wallflower or... Hmmmm would you show the babes the door? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-06-15 15:54:55 |
| #7 "Castro simply isn't welcome. If he showed up here, he'd be arrested for entering the country illegally." So, let's assume that you had a certain free borders treaty (let's call this hypothetical treaty "Shengen"). Let's say that Castro used it to go from one country to the other. Should you arrest him or shouldn't you? You won't have "illegal entry" as an excuse. "As for Castro, his entry into the United States has been to visit the United Nations, and the US has allowed such visits to keep from causing problems with the UN membership. Aris, you know this, but spew your arrogant bullshit to stir up trouble. " Actually, no, I had momentarily forgotten that Castro had spoken in the UN. "The biggest POC in Europe is France" What does POC mean? "where our good friend Bob from Zimbabwe was welcomed with open arms by Chirac." *shrug* I've never said I liked Chirac. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-06-15 14:29:09 |
| #6 The United States is capturing and holding the 55 "most wanted". We've yet determined how we would proceed with a procecution. We are also militarily in charge of Iraq until the Iraqi people can elect members to a national government. As for Castro, his entry into the United States has been to visit the United Nations, and the US has allowed such visits to keep from causing problems with the UN membership. Aris, you know this, but spew your arrogant bullshit to stir up trouble. You are disgusting. The biggest POC in Europe is France, where our good friend Bob from Zimbabwe was welcomed with open arms by Chirac. Bob's welcome during his French visit was a carefully crafted political blow aimed at Britain - something all Britons should keep in mind before blindly accepting further "integration" into the "European Union". |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-06-15 13:54:39 |
| #5 Aris, we've asserted this competence only in countries we've fought and defeated. Now if Belgium is prepared to conquer Israel... Maybe we'll assert universal competence by conquering Belgium. Or Greece... |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-06-15 13:25:08 |
| #4 Aris, we mostly handle that by denying visas. Castro simply isn't welcome. If he showed up here, he'd be arrested for entering the country illegally. The only foreign leader I'm aware of us incarcerating is Noriega, who was convicted on drug trafficking charges (operations conducted inside the US, even if he wasn't). Europe's history of welcoming "The Leader" of various nations is well documented. It's not something I'd be too proud of if I were you. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-06-15 13:24:47 |
| #3 Hmm... so the list of 55 most wanted Iraqis, isn't some kind of "universal competence" the American government thinks it has about crimes committed on Iraqi soil? And what about other people such as Castro? Are they allowed to freely visit America and leave it without being bothered by the authorities? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-06-15 12:13:43 |
| #2 I wonder what the world would think if the US were to pass a "universal competence" law like Belgium's. Heh, heh... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2003-06-15 10:55:54 |
| #1 ...he could be arrested to stand trial if he enters Belgium... Yeah. I'd like to see them try. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-06-15 08:15:48 |