I also welcome Livni - an open letter to PM Gordon Brown

Published today (updated) 17/12/2009 12:54

Ma'an

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

There are countless reasons for which I take pride in being a British citizen, most prominent of all is knowing that the British legal system operates in a fair and just manner, independent of governmental interference. Moreover, that the British judiciary, following the ratification of various international conventions and treaties, understands its vital role and obligations under universal jurisdiction to pursue serious allegations of war crimes. The British courts set an international precedent in 1998 with the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London when a Spanish warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of genocide, torture and terrorism. 

On Wednesday, Mr Prime Minister, you made a mockery of the British courts, of democracy, and of international principles that cannot be abandoned, by informing the Israeli leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni that she is always welcome in the UK, as you move to affect change within the British legal system to ensure that Israeli officials and other internationals accused of perpetrating war crimes are able to visit the UK without fears of arrest.

Let me be clear, my innate belief in the British judiciary is such that, should any members of the Gaza authorities accused of the same crimes visit the UK, similar warrants for their arrest would be issued.  

By promising the Israeli government that you will protect those accused, you are not only violating and compromising the British legal system but you are undermining the constant struggle to achieve the separation of powers that began with the Magna Carta, leading up to the Supreme Court Act. This was attained in the UK without the upheaval of European revolutions that sought the same ends. This separation of powers is the foundation of modern, British society. 

You have paid no heed to the history of human civilization, which has reached a point where all human life is deemed to have value and where our institutions have undertaken to preserve and guarantee this value at all costs. This march towards progress, which was regrettably built on the suffering of countless innocent victims, enabled the British courts to try an alleged criminal of war in 1998 and, just last week, compelled the government to endorse an EU proposal promoting the compliance with international human rights law. These actions were taken in the knowledge that all persons have inalienable human rights that must be guaranteed for nothing supersedes them. Yet, you act to oppose these developments.

Mr Prime Minister, you have cast aspersions on the victims of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Chile, Kosovo and more, by ignoring  Justice Richard Goldstone's findings which should be heard in a court of law. You are discrediting every single International Criminal Court that was set up to hear the claims of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This was particularly achieved when you announced your embarrassment for the judiciary's adherence to its ethical obligations. By doing so, you have encouraged the contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention and further empowered its transgressors to continue to act with impunity. 

In welcoming Livni without fear of arrest, you have also implied her guilt and your disregard for the rule of law, a supreme value of our democracy. The British legal systems is based on the principle that all accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. By acting to change the law in such a way that would prevent her arrest, one infers that a British court would find her guilty. As a result,  you will have aided and abetted an alleged war criminal. 

Significantly, you have acted to stifle your own citizens' voices: The lawyers who had approached the courts to assist their clients in the pursuit of justice. You have chosen to engage Israel in dialogue over safeguarding your citizens' rights and trusting in your independent judges. 

I have yet to draw your attention to the serious allegations put forward in Goldstone's report. Between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009 it was found that Israeli forces performed indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population in Gaza constituting "grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of willful killings and willfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility"

"The conditions of life in Gaza, resulting from deliberate actions of the Israeli forces and the declared policies of the Government of Israel – as they were presented by its authorized and legitimate representatives - with regard to the Gaza Strip before, during and after the military operation, cumulatively indicate the intention to inflict collective punishment on the people of the Gaza Strip in violation of international humanitarian law."

During operation cast lead 1,417 Palestinians were killed. Vital infrastructure was damaged, schools and hospitals were targeted and many remain without shelter a year on as Israel continues its blockade on the Gaza Strip - a crippling siege that continues to deprive Palestinians of their basic needs and rights. By prohibiting the independent judicial system from executing this warrant, you are complicit in the ongoing violations of human rights and Israel's intransigence. 

My grandfather was born in the Gaza Strip during the British Mandate. His family remains there. During Operation Cast Lead, my family remained too, while Israel continued to close off its borders as it waged war against an already downtrodden civilian population. Had I been in Gaza during the assault, the British government would have certified my safety by virtue of being a British citizen. But many Gazans were not born and raised in London, like myself. Israel, as the occupying power, did not certify their safety in accordance with its obligations under international law, but rather cemented a life of suffering and despair.  

As discussions are presently being held in Whitehall, which aim to give the attorney general a veto power over granting arrest warrants of foreigners suspected of war crimes - effectively creating a buffer in criminal cases - I ask you if you deem the legal system, the rights of British citizenry, of the Palestinians, and significantly, of humanity, less important than keeping "Israel [as] a strategic partner and close friend of the UK" as our Foreign Minister David Milliband said. 

I, like you Mr Prime Minister, welcome Tzipi Livni to the UK. I welcome her, and all accused parties, to stand trial in a British court for allegations of war crimes under the purview of universal jurisdiction. I urge you, Mr Prime Minister, not to cast aside the rule of law.