'Tony Bliar' goes walkabout in Rochdale

'Tony Bliar' on Yorkshire Street

'Tony Bliar' together with his 'Dodgy Dossier' turned a few heads in Rochdale on Saturday morning (30 January). He was accompanied by members of Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group who were inviting people to express their anger at Tony Blair's failure to apologise in any way for the deaths of an estimated one million Iraqis and 179 British troops during the invasion and military occupation of Iraq.

Their petition calls for the indictment of Blair at an international war crimes tribunal under both the Geneva and Hague Conventions. It cites fourteen alleged war crimes including: "Deceit and conspiracy for war; employing radioactive ammunition causing long-term destruction of the planetary habitat; supporting an ally that employs ‘waterboarding’ and other tortures; using inhumane restraints on prisoners and the use of cluster bombs and other indiscriminate weapons including white phosphorous."

Pat Sanchez, on behalf of the Peace Group said: "Many people were sickened by Tony Blair's appearance at the Chilcot Inquiry and by the failure of the members of the inquiry to question him effectively.

"I was particularly distressed by the contempt which the parents of the soldiers who he had sent to their deaths in Iraq felt he had shown to them. Instead of apologising for the deceit and lies which he used to make the case for the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, Blair continued his attempts to mislead and to obscure the facts. In doing so, he seemed to be aided and abetted by the members of the inquiry who failed to interrogate him about the use of depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorous and cluster bombs in civilians areas or about the abuse of prisoners.

"The fact remains that Blair lied and as a result many many people have died.

"The case for his indictment for war crimes is clear. The case for doubting the truth of anything he says is even clearer."