Scottish lawyers and activists, Lebanese residents in Scotland and the Lebanese government have joined forces to bring Tony Blair before the Scottish courts, charged with war crimes for aiding and abetting the Zionist onslaught against Lebanon.
The case under preparation aims to take the Scottish Executive and the UK government to court for allowing US aircraft to send âbunker-buster bombsâ from America to the Occupation via Scottish airports.
âWe are laying before you all these facts and we count on you to use all possible means of pressure to put an end to the destruction targeting civilians. We are counting on you and thank youâ stated the message sent by Ali Berro, the Lebanese governmentâs special adviser on legal affairs, to the UK legal team and the Lebanese clients.
The Lebanese government is further providing the legal team, led by the Glasgow-based human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, with detailed information about war crimes committed by the Zionist regime, and has forwarded information on the casualty rates of Lebanese civilians and the type of weapons being deployed by the Occupation forces. In total, some 30 lawyers, including QCs, in Scotland and England are helping prepare the case against the government.
The team is accusing Blair of assisting Apartheid Israel in carrying out war crimes against civilians, citing various pieces of international legislation, including the Geneva Conventions, which say that it is a war crime to aid and abet a nation carrying out attacks targeted against civilians.
Anwar said: âThe Lebanese government has made it clear that they want this conflict to stop. Both they and us are aware that every time more weapons are supplied to Israel, more Lebanese civilians will die. We wish to indict Tony Blair for war crimes as he is complicit in the war crimes of Israel by allowing the passage of arms through Scotland. This will take time, and that is why the Lebanese government is helping to catalogue information.â
Berro has also supplied a legal briefing to Anwar and his clients outlining which pieces of international law have been violated. Berro said: âSince July 12, 2006, the Israeli army, which has the largest and most advanced military machinery in the region, has committed all kinds of crimes: crimes against humanity, war crimes and mass killings.â
Some 1000 Lebanese civilians have died in the attacks â many women and children. Berro said: âHuman shreds are scattered amid the destruction.â He further denounced the Occupationâs use of phosphorous bombs, and its policy of âsending ultimatums to the inhabitants of villages, waiting for them to get out and then hunting them on their way to safetyâ. He also outlined Zionist attacks on petrol stations, warehouses, electricity companies, places of worship, bridges, hospitals and ambulances.
The Lebanese community in Scotland and England is now collectively raising the money needed to fund the legal challenge. Members of the 20-strong group of Lebanese, who have put their names to the suit against the government, have lost loved ones in the conflict, had property destroyed and seen their relatives and friends turned into refugees.
Azam Mohamad, one of the Scottish-based Lebanese nationals taking the case against the Scottish Executive and the UK government, said: âWe took this action as US aircraft are going through Prestwick airport with bombs bound for Israel that will be used to shell our families. We want to stop those bombs.â
In the face of complete inaction and complicity of the political bodies, such as the UN and governments, supposed to implement and guarantee international law and conventions, activists are more and more challenging the legal organs of their states. If international law is to have any value at all, it needs to be enforced.
While politicians are apparently deaf to calls for justice and unaware of their legal obligations, it is hoped that at least the judges feel bound to comply with law and international conventions.
The holding and possible victory of such a case indicting the British MP for support in war crimes could set an important precedent with implications reaching far beyond the border of the UK.