The Push to Arrest Bush
When former president hits Calgary, some want him nabbed for war crimes.
Former president George W. Bush.
As with previous visits to Canada, George W. Bush will be greeted in Calgary today with protests and calls for his arrest and prosecution for war crimes.
But one key difference separates this from past visits -- he now lacks diplomatic immunity.
In one of his first international appearances, the former president is expected to speak before an audience of 1,500 over the lunch hour today at Calgary's Telus Convention Centre.
The speech, which takes place the same week as the sixth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, is by invite only and will be closed to the media.
Invitations for the event said Bush will focus on "the challenges facing the world in the 21st century" and reflections on "eight momentous years in the Oval Office."
Welcoming Bush to Calgary will be a rally and protest, the culmination of a week-long campaign organized by The People vs. Bush, a committee of peace, labour, social justice and environmental groups. The events also included a mock war crimes trial on Saturday (Bush was convicted), and a public forum outlining the case for investigation and prosecution.
Ahead of the visit, a group called Lawyers Against the War sent a letter to the RCMP war crimes section requesting the police force bar Bush from entering Canada, citing torture and other war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay committed under his watch.
"We are now very sure that the crimes were committed," said Gail Davidson, author of the letter and co-founder of the Canadian-based international organization of jurists. "The Bush administration planned, authorized, directed and funded those crimes."
Not like last time
When Bush visited Ottawa in 2004, Davidson, a Vancouver lawyer, filed a criminal information, a sworn document used to initiate a criminal proceeding. But charges must first be approved by the attorney general and the Canadian government claimed Bush had diplomatic immunity as a head of state.
With that protection now aside, legal experts argue the possibility exists for Canada to prosecute Bush under the principle of universal jurisdiction, similar to what was used to arrest and indict former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in Britain.
"There certainly is jurisdiction under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act," said Michael Byers, UBC law professor and the Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics.
The act, passed in 2000, allows the Canadian government to charge someone for war crimes even if the accused is a foreign citizen and the crimes took place abroad.
"It's absolutely cutting-edge legislation," Byers said. "It's probably the best and most wide-reaching legislation in the world and we can be proud of it. The only thing we can't be proud of is our reluctance to implement it."
'Difficult to conceive': Byers
To date, there has been only one prosecution under the nine-year-old law.
Rwandan war crimes suspect Desire Munyaneza is still awaiting a verdict in a Quebec court and faces a life sentence in a Canadian prison.
Enacting the legislation requires the consent of the federal government, throwing the probability of a prosecution of Bush in serious doubt.
"It's difficult to conceive of the Harper government allowing an arrest of a former U.S. president," Byers said. "This is a government that won't even request the repatriation of Omar Khadr," he said, referring to the Canadian citizen who has spent the last six years held at Guantanamo Bay on the accusation of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan when he was 15.
While Byers said he favours a criminal investigation into Bush's alleged crimes, he is not supporting calls for a Canadian prosecution at this time.
"We don't yet know what decision Barack Obama will make concerning a prosecution in the U.S.," he said. "My view at the moment is we should wait to see where the Obama administration is going. The government of nationality should be given the first opportunity to do so."
'No one above the law': Obama
The current president has not yet stated definitively whether or not he will proceed with criminal investigations. He has sent a clear signal of change from the Bush administration in some areas, ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre within one year and commanding American officials to follow treaties and laws that prohibit torture.
But on the question of possible criminal investigations of former administration officials, he has remained somewhat elusive.
Perhaps the most explicit indication he has given was an interview with ABC News's George Stephanopoulos shortly before his inauguration.
"We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of interrogations, detentions, and so forth," Obama said.
"Obviously we're going to look at past practices. And I don't believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand, I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards."
For some, this interview dampened hopes of the probability of Obama opening an investigation.
Most Americans want torture investigated
"In terms of likelihood, I think the indication right now would be that he would be disinclined to look into a criminal prosecution," said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based non-profit legal advocacy organization.
The group is calling for an independent investigation and criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials as part of its 100 Days to Restore the Constitution campaign. Warren said he believes these types of proceedings are necessary to send a message of an end to impunity.
"If there are criminal prosecutions for the actions -- that will have the strongest deterrent effect," he said.
Close to two-thirds of Americans favour an investigation into the use of torture tactics by the Bush administration, according to a late-January USA Today/Gallup poll. Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they wanted a criminal investigation while another quarter preferred an independent panel without criminal charges.
"I think that there is significant support from the American people," Warren said. "We as a nation, the United States, cannot move forward... until there's meaningful accountability within the U.S. of the government officials that put forth these crimes," he said. Warren supports using universal jurisdiction laws at any time if that is what is required.
"The preference of course is to have it done within the United States but failing that, if the Obama administration refuses to do that, we would call on the international community," he said, adding that Canada is well within its jurisdiction to prosecute. "It is an independent sovereign and it can move forward as it sees fit."
Calgary, Bush country?
The choice of location for one of Bush's first post-presidency visits was not surprising to local activists.
"It is quite significant that Calgary is the heart of Big Oil in Canada and the heart of conservatism also," said Tavis Ford, part of the protest's organizing committee. "If anywhere on earth is going to welcome Bush it is going to be in Calgary, unfortunately," he said.
Organizers of the protest are hoping to use this choice of location to reveal the widespread public opinion seeking prosecution.
"People all around the world are going to see that in the conservative heartland... that there isn't support, that there is demand for justice and an end to impunity."
Those protesting Bush's visit are willing to concede that an arrest and prosecution today are quite unlikely.
"It's not going to happen," said Ford. "But we do need to make a strong case for it and make it known that he's not welcome here."
Advocates hope that the protest events in Calgary are building blocks towards the ultimate goal of seeing Bush arrested.
"This is not going to be our only opportunity," said Byers, pointing to the long amount of time before any action was taken against Pinochet. "He wasn't arrested until 25 years after the alleged atrocities occurred and Mr. Bush is a pretty healthy man."
'Some kind of remedy': Lawyers Against the War
Lawyers Against the War is currently in consultation with other international legal groups, planning the best strategy for bringing Bush administration officials to justice.
"We want to think of where we have the best opportunity of making those tries," said Davidson. "That may well be in some other jurisdiction," she said. "Prosecutions and investigations are not going to happen unless there is a great deal of public pressure."
She said she is confident people everywhere are beginning to understand the need for bringing Bush administration officials to justice and are voicing their opinions.
"How we move on is by ensuring that the wrongs of the past don't occur in the future and those who were wronged by past behaviour have some kind of remedy, that they have some kind of justice. The need for that is not only basic to the legal system but basic to human nature."
And while it may have once been thought impossible to try a former American president for war crimes, advocates are saying recent events have given them hope.
"I never thought I would live to see an African-American president elected in the United States," said Warren.
Related Tyee stories:
- Could Bush Be Prosecuted for War Crimes?
A former chief prosecutor of Nazis says yes. - Colin Powell, Keep Out
The case for blocking Bush's war spinner at our border. - Pull Welcome Mat for 'War Criminal' Bush?
Vancouver legal experts join movement to rule the U.S. president a violator of Geneva and U.N. conventions.
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freebear
17-03-2009
Preemptive Arrest!
Maybe Bush should be arrested preemptively, just like they want the right to preemptive strike any Nation who may even have a bad thought about the U.S. !!
Also remember Saint Obama, oops I mean President Obama, said that Americans will not apologize for their way of life (helping to kill the planet!)!
seth
17-03-2009
Fascism - George Bush and Gordon Campbell
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“ The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power
demotto
17-03-2009
If Bush
If Bush is not arrested for his Crimes Against Humanity and his War Crimes when he steps off the plane in Calgary then Harper and all other public officials are guilty of aiding and abetting and should be charged and prosecuted under the full force of the law.
Oh ya sorry I forgot Harper, Campbell and the rest are above the law. So much for rule of law, it only applies against non elites.
Van Isle
17-03-2009
Aw, c'mon. We all know that
Aw, c'mon. We all know that the elite will only do what they have to do when it's convienent or there will be little or no repurcussions. There are Americans who have more than enough information about the Bush administration to impeach him long ago.
IranianDude
17-03-2009
US - Canada: master/slave relationship
As long as master/slave principle dictates our relationship with the US, we cannot possibly call ourselves a sovereign nation. Hence we can't speak for ourselves. The United States dictates who we go to war with (Afghanistan - how many Canadians approve of this mission? less than 2%?), on what terms we can have business deals with them, which country we can have relationship with and what fascist regimes we endorce (Israel) and condemn (Sudan).
The Unites States' governmetn is our master and we are in no position to demand things outside the framework of master/slave relationship. We give them some gas/oil, they give us WalMart, Burger King and TV programs. We applaud their war machines, they give us some new helicopters in return.
Arrest former president of our masters? who are we freaking kidding here? I mean heck, any Canadian officials have stones to criticize war criminal buddies of the US in Israel? much less criticize the master, himself?
You have to come to grips with the fact taht Canada as a soverign nation DOESN'T EXIST. PERIOD.
sunshine coast girl
17-03-2009
Arrest him..
and try him as a war criminal. Scum.
thehaaxw
17-03-2009
Rule of Law
Flush him out, run him down and bring him to justice!
C6FlyBy
17-03-2009
I admire President Bush
Wow, there sure are a lot of loons posting comments on this site. I think you should rent the movie Bug, you're exactly the same uninformed, twisted, sad and lost souls the movie warns of.
History will eventually conclude President Bush's presidency was way more successful than it's being portrayed today. His stand against global warming hysterics, his personal crusade to aid Africa (which supposedly has saved 10 million lives) and his success in keeping America safe since 9/11 are all admirable. And the man himself, well, you'll notice not once in 8 years was is personal integrity even once questioned, unlike Clinton's was constantly before him and Obama's already in just a few months. Unfortunately, good character and sticking to what you know is right are not values supported by typical liberals. They like things to be a little more flexible.
cboo44
17-03-2009
Arrest Bush ?
Yeah, dream on. How "symbolic", anyone associated with this demand actually deal in reality? Sheesh.
Skywalker
17-03-2009
Not likely.
"History will eventually conclude President Bush's presidency was way more successful than it's being portrayed today." Not unless we are all brain dead. History will never be able to paint over the victims in Irag, Afghanistan and Gaza. These were all victims of U.S. Imperialism under Bush. He's a disgrace and should stay on his ranch in Texas. At least then the only victims are his cows.
G West
17-03-2009
Anyone paying $400
Anyone paying $400 to listen to this clown, whose presidency may have succeeded in bankrupting the United States is the real loon, in my opinion.
There is a perfectly valid and logical case for charging Bush with criminal behavior and violations of international law, just as there is for charging Cheney, Rumsfeld and Henry Kissinger.
Where have you been C6FlyBy?
ChrisB
17-03-2009
Reality Check Please
Whatever basis there may be for accusing Bush of criminal conduct, it seems to me to be an entirely pointless game for Canadian lawyers to be playing. I'll be surprised if he and his Canadian friends even acknowledge the challenge.
Since many of us are aware that the entire Canadian legal system, the courts included, is an ongoing trainwreck, we should be encouraging the members of the legal profession to start putting their house in order instead of constantly looking for windmills to tilt at. Their problem is that they are afraid to challenge an establishment that can and would bite them back. A former U.S. President is a safe target because he has no reason to take them seriously.
Bailey
17-03-2009
South America awaits
Didn't I read an account a couple of years ago that one of Bush's kids had bought a big compound there?
Whatever is done and whoever does it, states are not about to try heads of other states ever. It's an old arrangement by which they make themselves safe from attack during war.
When attempts were made against Hitler, for example, it had to be his own officers who carried out the plan. Not enemy states.
As long as heads of state all agree to never attack other heads, all feel safer. If any one of them ever does attack another, the arrangement would quickly break down and none would ever be safe.
The only exceptions seem to be actual madmen, and then only if the state they are head of is very small and weak.
Pinochet, Noriega...
C6FlyBy
17-03-2009
Again the misinformation
G West: President Bush had very little to do with 'bankrupting the United States'. Obviously your memory goes back only as far as you'd like it to (and filters everything to fit your preconceived bias). Check out Barny Frank and his gay lover, Herb Moses, and the creation of the financial instruments, the advocacy behind the scenes, and the laws that ultimately were signed BEFORE PRESIDENT BUSH WAS ELECTED that brought about the whole disaster.
cerea
18-03-2009
bush
Try him as a war crimminal. How do you do that when thousands of people and billions of dollars are used to get him elected? Plus the man has diplomatic immunity. Big business is to blame for the wars and the financial messes we are in. How would Boeing, Loughheed Martin sell airplanes and munitions? Most of these companies have a senator or two sittin on their boards as ad hoc members, in case it might look self serving. There is money to be made in American politics. How would the US get it's hands on all the oil in the world including ours? The US economy is based on expansion of it's companies and businesses. Take a look at Canada and count how many box stores have come into this country or franchises. Find out if any are actually Canadian born and operated. Our beloved Tim Horton's only became successful after an American company bought and advertised it. It is not just the USA involved with the war in Irag or Afghanistan. What about the coalitions and the Iragis and Afghans standing in the wings willing to take power. George W Bush is just a figurehead, he has absoutly no power. Just because someone is named a leader it doesn't mean they lead. Have you everworked or been in a group of people, watch the dynamics and see if the person who is the leader actually leads or has advisors. The funnisest and sad part is that the media plays with western democratic leaders and will back whoever gives them the most access or stories. The stories however don't have to true or with merit. The embedded reporters, what a joke. If you ever watch rightwinged TV most of it is not stories but rather the opinions of the person screaming them out. How could someone arrest a figurehead and try him for war crimes, let alone a Canadian. First of all what army is going to back us? Do we have a coaliton of the willing? Are they with us or aganist us? Is operation going be like Mogdishu? Who is going to jail with George? Are we arresting Poles, Brits, Italians and other members of the coalition. Or are we going to try Bush under Canadian Law? First of all he will have to be psychologically assesed, which can take a very long time. Then maybe a plea-bargain, or a symphathic judge who has decided George had a bad home life growing up and it is not his fault he is a crimminal. Probation maybe and sent back home with a promise he'll be good ole boy.
Cerea
G West
18-03-2009
C6FlyBy
Please, tell me how your ad hominem attack on someone's sexual orientation has anything to do with this:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
Please dig further, at your leisure, into what the debt situation was at the start of the Bush Regime.
There is no doubt that the American disease started long before Bush came to power, but, the facts are clear that he created more public debt during his presidency than all any other US president since independence.
Believe in fairy tales all you like, that too has always been a particular affliction of American politicians and deluded citizens alike.
demotto
18-03-2009
Now that
Now that the RCMP have let Bush come and go under orders from Harper and his gang of criminals all public officials in that chain of command are guilty under the Criminal Code
Accessory after the fact
23. (1) An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing that a person has been a party to the offence, receives, comforts or assists that person for the purpose of enabling that person to escape.
jimorsheryl
18-03-2009
Public debt.... wait til Obama is finished
How much public debt has the Obama admin run up so far? Does anyone have any idea?
Does everyone here really think the President of the USA has the power of a King?
This whole nonsense about arresting him is just more left wing fringe baloney.
Gets some press but no one really takes them seriously.
lynn
18-03-2009
More names for the war crimes list:
Since a war of subterfuge and legislative betrayal is presently being waged against Canada by the same Bushite corporate forces, perhaps we could suggest to "Lawyers Against the War" a few more localized...errrrrr..... "Canadian" political names for their list.....names of persons here that through their relentless efforts are helping these same forces out by facilatating and expediting "the inside" part of the job of destroying Canada....along with the human rights of its citizens.
IranianDude
18-03-2009
No Canadian officials
No Canadian officials have any real power to arrest a small time US government employee much less a former president.
Always remember, our masters only feeds us as long as we're truly subservient.
OUR JOB IS TO SERVE THE AMERICANS. It's not a hyperbole - a cursory understanding of our relationship reveals the unsettling reality of this lopsided "friendship."
You guys are delusional about this country. CANADA AS SOVEREIGN NATION DOES NOT EXIST. One could argue that it never existed.
Many moons ago when I became Canadian citizen, I was asked to raise my hand to show allegiance to the Queen - the freaking Queen of England! The WTF moment didn't register at the time; I was young and stupid. Not anymore.
At least Iraqis have some pride in themselves by resisting Americans.