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=> The day I tried to arrest Tony Blair

The day I tried to arrest Tony Blair

Posted by Tiglath (Guest) - Thursday, March 25 2010, 1:45:33 (UTC)
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Is it possible to perform a citizen's arrest for war crimes on the former prime minister for war crimes? One man decided to find out . . .

David Cronin guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 24 March 2010 19.00

It was only when I saw the glow from Tony Blair's tan that I knew I couldn't chicken out. I'd hatched a vague plan the previous day to place the former prime minister under citizen's arrest, during his scheduled visit to the European Parliament – but wasn't certain I would have the guts to go through with it.

But with Blair just a few metres away from me, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his right arm. "Mr Blair, this is a citizen's arrest," I said. For a millisecond, he looked at me with an expression that seemed to blend puzzlement and contempt.

I had intended to invite him to accompany me to the nearest police station, but was abruptly shoved out of the way by at least one of his bodyguards. "You are guilty of war crimes," I shouted at his back, as he made his way towards a meeting room.

My attempt was inspired by the Arrest Blair campaign that George Monbiot, the environmental activist and Guardian columnist, has set up. As mine was the second attempt since he launched the initiative, many well-wishers have expressed a hope it will be third time lucky.

I'm no expert on the legal issues surrounding citizen's arrests, but I did know a precedent had been set by Peter Tatchell when he tried to apprehend Robert Mugabe, also in Brussels, in 2001.

Britain and Belgium have both ratified the Rome statute, which entered into force in 2002. This accord, which covers the activities of the International Criminal Court, refers to the crime of aggression. In my view, the war that Blair and George Bush declared against Iraq just over seven years ago was demonstrably not an act of self-defence. Yet, so far, the ICC has only issued indictments against Africans – why should international justice not apply to white men such as Blair and Bush?

I also wished to highlight the obscenity of Blair's role as a "peace envoy" in the Middle East. Last year, I visited the house of Maher Hanoun and his family in East Jerusalem – who were later evicted by an Israeli settler company, Nahalat Shimon. Blair has an office in the nearby American Colony hotel, yet said nothing. How can he be trusted to bring peace?

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