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“The
law would now only affect Belgian nationals or persons resident in
Belgium, or victims who are Belgian,” Verhofstadt
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BRUSSELS,
June 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A leading human rights
organization said Monday, June 23, it was disappointed with Belgium's
decision to water down a controversial war crimes law and said it feared
Brussels had caved in to pressure from the United States.
"It
is regrettable that under irrational pressure from the United States the
Belgian government is renouncing fundamental principles,"
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
"Our
reaction is a mixed one; they (the Belgian government) managed to
salvage something, but too many concessions were made to the United
States," Agence- France- Presse (AFP) quoted HRW official Reef
Brody as saying.
The
Belgian government announced Sunday, June 22, it was drastically
reducing the scope of a controversial Belgian law that caused a rift
with Washington, after it was used in attempts to indict U.S. leaders
for crimes against humanity.
The
law has deepened tensions between Washington and Brussels, which
bitterly opposed
the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
The
1993 Universal Competence law, as it stands, gives Belgian courts the
right to judge anyone accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity
or genocide, regardless of the suspect's country of origin or where
the crime took place.
Under
the law, cases were brought against U.S. President George W. Bush and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, accusing them of war
crimes over the war in Iraq.
Last
week U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld threatened that Belgium
would face
consequences unless it ditched the law, which he branded
"absurd".
Rumsfeld
was backed by British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon, who said the
Belgian law was a matter of "great concern".
Apart
from Bush, Blair, the law has led to lawsuits against General
Tommy Franks, Rumsfeld
, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell,
former U.S. president George
Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Accordingly,
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told journalists that the law
would not be scrapped but modified so that it does not apply to
democratic countries.
An
initial agreement was reached Saturday, June 21, following lengthy
discussions between the Socialists and Liberals, who are set to form
Belgium's new government following a general election last May.
The
law would now only affect Belgian nationals or persons resident in
Belgium, or victims who are Belgian or have had their permanent
residence in Belgium for at least three years, Verhofstadt said.
'Undemocratic'
The
revised law would apply only to 'undemocratic countries' as indictment
would be admissible only if the suspect was from a country unwilling to
prosecute the alleged crimes or if it failed to guarantee a fair trial.
Moreover,
the new legislation ensures that there will be no government
interference in proceedings arising from the law. Only Belgian courts
will be able to decide whether a case can be admitted.
"The
head of Belgium's appeal court would have full autonomy in deciding if a
complaint could be filed," Verhofstadt explained.
Under
a recent revised version, the Belgian government was able to decide
whether to refer complaints to their countries of origin.
Commenting,
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the revised law "will
meet the concern of countries rightly worried about possible deviations
and abuses that the law could cause."
Michel
himself on Friday, June 20, had a case lodged against him, for alleged
crimes against humanity following a contentious arms sale to Nepal.
Put
On Ice
Only
this month the law was invoked to press an indictment against Israeli
General Amos Yaron for his role in the 1982 massacres of Palestinians at
Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon.
However,
Belgian court proceedings against Sharon on similar grounds were put on
ice by Belgium's appeals court for the period of his term of office.
The
only convictions under the legislation so far have been those of four
Rwandans found guilty in 2001 of taking part in the 1994 genocide in
their homeland, which left upwards of one million people dead.
Although
the law has no equivalent elsewhere in the world, some argue that with
the advent of the International Criminal Court, Belgium no longer needs
to be a flag-bearer for cross-border justice.
