Retirement, for a world leader, used to mean writing a blockbuster autobiography and swanning around the lucrative international speaking circuit. Nowadays — ask Tony Blair and Thabo Mbeki — it is as likely to mean the threat of imminent arrest and charges before the International Criminal Court.
Previously, upon the statesman’s retirement, even lifelong foes would make polite, albeit insincere, noises about statesmanship and patriotism. Nowadays, however, the bile intensifies as even former colleagues queue to bury a dagger in the politician’s now unprotected back.
Following former prime minister Blair’s testimony last week before a British inquiry into the legality of the Iraq invasion, there has been renewed clamour from activist groups for his arrest on “crimes against peace”. A website has been set up with instructions on how to carry out a citizen’s arrest, with disillusioned and angry Brits stumping up thousands of pounds towards a bounty for anyone doing so.
In similar vein, as part of the ongoing ritual humiliation by the African National Congress (ANC) of former president Mbeki, there were calls last year from within the tripartite alliance for him to be charged with genocide. The Young Communists wanted both Mbeki and former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (fortunately for her, now deceased) prosecuted for denying the HIV/Aids nexus and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
From within the ANC came calls for an inquiry akin to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to prevent “something like this happening again”; new Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi spoke scathingly of the previous government’s denial and neglect; the trade unionists urged Mbeki to apologise to the nation; and President Jacob Zuma cheerfully excoriated the administration that he once served in.
On the face of it, neither Mbeki nor Blair has much to worry about. Not only is the legal case against them paper-thin but also they are safe because of a pragmatic awareness that the arrest and arraignment of the heads of sovereign states would paralyse executive government everywhere in the world.
Nevertheless, the relatively recent establishment of international laws and treaties that in theory make it possible to prosecute, outside of their own countries, national leaders and an echelon of government officials who were previously immune to legal censure, is beginning to bite.
A number of senior Israeli officials, including a Cabinet minister, have had to cancel trips to the United Kingdom, after pro-Palestinian groups last year tried to have Defence minister Ehud Barak arrested for alleged war crimes committed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The magistrate ruled that Barak could not be arrested because he had diplomatic immunity, but it remains a possibility that someone on a non-official visit to the UK would not be so fortunate.
And as activist Peter Tatchell — who tried a citizen’s arrest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in London for “murder, torture, detention without trial, and the abuse of gay human rights” — knows, it is the embarrassment and inconvenience that are most important. British police manhandled Tatchell’s band and Mugabe went free, but media footage of the “arrest” certainly took much of the fun out off the dictator’s previously regular shopping forays to Harrods.
Similarly, George Monbiot, who founded the Arrest Blair website knows that Blair will never stand in the dock, but he is determined to make the former prime minister’s daily life a nightmare by encouraging repeated attempts at arrest.
Political crusaders have potent new weapon in their arsenal. Constitutional check and balances and the law do not always suffice to curb despots and megalomaniacs. It would be great if public humiliation managed to do the trick.
Man, this really sucks: “a pragmatic awareness that the arrest and arraignment of the heads of sovereign states would paralyse executive government everywhere in the world”!! Why should it?? In a real democracy, if a leader is arrested there should be someone else to step into his shoes and the rule of law should continue its course. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying IT SUCKS and we should change it. I hope your statement that Monbiot “knows that Blair will never stand in the dock” turns out to be gloriously wrong. We must at least AIM to make it so.
In 1998 Mr Mbeki was instrumental in the establishment of SANAC.
Should he not be given some credit for having the insight to form a body of government, health, business and social welfare experts to create a policy for dealing with a pandemic that still has no cure.
I don’t think its unreasonable to have assumed in the 90′s that “science” would not have found a vaccine and a cure 15 years later. Who could have predicted the social impact of the HIV/Aids pandemic in the mid 90′s?
The government endorsed HIV and Aids National Strategic Plan is identical to the UNAID reccomendations and the body controlling the various governmental social aspects of the pandemic was formed by Mbeki – lets give him a break on this one.
William, on what basis do you allege that the legal case against them is paper thin? The age of impunity is coming to an end. With power comes responsibility and therefore – ultimately accountability. As Bob said ‘the times they are a chngin’. And changing fast. I am prepared to make a small wager that in the next 20 years you will have a Bush or a Blair appear before the International Criminal Court. Simply because they should.
@ Carl and @Pete
Well, I hope you are right. The genocide charges against Mbeki would probably fail because they demand a deliberate police of extermination; against Blair the war mongering charges would rest on the failure to wait for the second UN resolution – I imagine Blair would rely on his defence before Chilcott, that he acted in an extreme situation on what evidence he had before him. As for Bush, as you rightly point … well the US doesn’t recognise the authority of the ICC, hasn’t signed the protocols.
Pete Ess is right. Despots around the world should not be allowed to go quietly into exile or retirement. They should be hounded until they are brought before an international tribunal to face trial.
There is already a long list of them, who seem to have escaped…for now. And even a few who still cling onto power. When our own President, Jacob Zuma is thrown out or even steps down, I think he should join that infamous list…