Dr M Hopes M'sians Will Not Invite Persons Convicted Of War Crimes To Country

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed regret that some Malaysians looked up to certain Westerners guilty of war crimes. Dr Mahathir, who is also founder and chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW), said he was shocked when some Malaysian businessmen invited one of the war criminals to give a talk here. He hoped the Malaysian public would not invite such people when asked whether the Malaysian police had the powers to arrest such people on war crimes. He said this during a press conference after attending the The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal (KLWCT) proceedings on Friday. The tribunal today announced its verdict and found that former US president George W. Bush and seven of his associates guilty on the charge of 'Crime of Torture and War Crimes'. On Nov 22, last year, the KLWCT had convicted former British prime minister Tony Blair on a verdict of guilty for Crimes Against Peace in that the accused person planned, prepared and invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003 in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law. Commenting on the proceedings which lasted for five days, Dr Mahathir said the sitting had been an eye opener as the prosecution and the defence had done a lot of research. The prosecution also came out with proper charges and all parties had quoted all the laws related to the charges, he said. "In a way, of course those who attended this proceedings can learn a lot about international law and the laws of the United States," he said. He said it was very clear from the decision made by the tribunal, the panel had listened carefully to all the presentation made by both the defence and the prosecution. Dr Mahathir said the judgment made by the tribunal was well documented and all the relevant laws were quoted. -- BERNAMA