Worldwide Tribunal to Meet in Istanbul

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Worldwide Tribunal To Meet In Istanbul Over U.S. War Crimes In Iraq


As President Bush "jet-sets" around the world, there is one overseas meeting in June he will avoid like the plague.

Bush and England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair this week received personal invitations to attend a session of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) in Istanbul from June 23-27.

A White House spokesman said he was unaware of the meeting or any such group.

The WTI, made up of thousands of people worldwide including many pre-imminent foreign leaders and dignitaries, seeks to reclaim justice regarding the Iraqi invasion since Bush and Blair have failed to recognize international law as well as the International Criminal Court.

The group was formed two years ago with the intent to document the war crimes orchestrated by Bush and Blair with the intent to eventually bring both heads of state to justice despite what group leaders say is "an arrogant flaunting of world opinion and established law."

WTI media spokesman Hilal Kuey said many countries around the world are not as kind towards the two leaders as America and England, viewing the Iraqi invasion as an overt act of aggression.

"Since the U.S. administration does not recognize the International Criminal Court and the U.K. government has used its power to avoid being prosecuted for an illegal and illegitimate war, the citizens of the world have undertaken an initiative to reclaim justice," said Kuey from her office in Turkey. "The world is calling for Bush and Blair to be held accountable for the crimes committed in Iraq."

The Istanbul conference is a culmination of two years of investigating and documenting the occupation and destruction of Iraq, as numerous sessions have been held in many foreign capitals around the world.

The Istanbul conference marks the third anniversary of the Iraqi invasion and seeks to hold Bush and Blair accountable for severe violations of international law.

The formal letter sent to Bush is highly critical of the Iraqi invasion and asks him to defend his position to the world, something WTI leaders say Bush has avoided for three years.

"We, on behalf of the peoples of the world who believe in justice, start from the conviction that you have been acting in violation of common values of humanity, international treaties and international law," stated the letter sent to the White House and numerous American and British Embassies around the world, asking both Bush and Blair to defend their positions.

Since the organization claims Bush has ignored worldwide pleas to respect international law, the WTI has spread to almost every capital in the world in an attempt to fight what it calls "a war of aggression launched despite the opposition of people and governments all over the world."

"There is no court or authority that will judge the acts of the U.S. and its allies. If the official authorities fail, then authority derived from universal morals and human rights principles can speak for the world," said Kuey, the WTI spokesman.

"Our legitimacy derives from the failure of official international institutions to hold accountable those who committed grave international crimes and constitute a continued menace to world peace. We have a duty to take action against wars of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other breaches of international law.

"The WTI will not end in Istanbul as it is to be considered a continuing process. The investigation of what happened in Iraq is of prime importance to restore truth and preserve collective memory against the constant rewriting of history. We are challenging the silence of international institutions and seeking to put them under pressure to fulfil their obligations under international law."

Besides the Iraqi invasion, the WTI is also investigating the growing clamor of what has been called America’s effort to create a "new world order" to dominate the world under a single leadership.

"The WTI initiative seeks to be part of a broader movement to stop the establishment of the new imperial world order as a permanent ´state of exception´ with constant wars as one of its main tools," added Kuey. "We hope to bring a moral, political and judicial judgment that contributes to build a world of peace and justice."


The WTI has been endorsed and signed by such notable worldwide figures as Richard Falk, professor of International Law at the University of Santa Barbara; Ken Coates, chairman of the Bertrand Russel Peace Foundation; Baskin Oran, former European member of parliament and professor of International Relations at the University of Ankara and Denis J. Halliday, former Asst. UN Secretary General 1994-1998.
Worldwide Tribunal