Blair's guilty anyway

As Tony Blair faces questioning today by the Hutton inquiry, the Green Party has urged the media and the public not to lose sight of the bigger picture - that the attack on Iraq was illegal in both conception and execution.

Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbon, of the Green Party's national executive, commented today:

"While it's highly significant that the British and US governments essentially fabricated justifications for attacking Iraq, let's not forget that even had their "sexed-up" claims been true the war would still have been illegal. The war still wasn't supported by a UN resolution, and a pre-emptive attack is still contrary to the UN Charter."

He continued: "Even had the war been legally justified, there were still aspects of its prosecution that contravened international criminal law. You need only look at the numbers of Iraqi civilians killed, the attacks on economic infrastructure, the 'decapitation' attacks and the attacks on media outlets, and put this alongside the clear wording of international criminal law."

"There is a prima facie case for a war crimes trial of British and US leaders."

The Greens point out:

* Article 51 of the 1977 Geneva Protocol I specifically prohibits attacks "which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof".

* Article 85(3) of Geneva Protocol I prohibits attacks against works containing dangerous forces (like a suspected chemical weapons store?), as a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and thus a war crime.

* Security Council Resolution 808 (1993), Article 3, prohibits "attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings". It doesn't make exceptions for "decapitation attacks" on restaurants or for the destruction of broadcasting facilities.

* Article 79 of Geneva Protocol I distinctly regards journalists as civilians at all times of war.

Spencer Fitz-Gibbon added: "Blair and Bush have publicly admitted ordering deliberate attacks on Iraqi broadcasting facilities, just as Blair and Clinton did in 1999 during the bombing of radio stations and other civilian targets in Yugoslavia."

"They have literally owned up to having committed war crimes, and sought to publicly justify their crimes by reference to 'foul propaganda'."

"Blair has said in parliament, 'Of course we will always abide by international law.' Either he is a liar of he's very badly informed about the law. And in either case, he's getting away with far too much."

For comment / interviews, please call Green Party press office on 020 7561 0282

http://www.greenparty.org.uk

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