©New
Sunday Times (Used by permission)
by Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
HOW is it that some people can go around the world and talk on how to rule the
world even though they have blood on their hands?
Take, for example, Radovan Karadzic, the "Butcher of Bosnia",
who is now facing trial in the Hague. Would we listen to him about the rule of
law, knowing full well his war crime record and the tortures he has been accused
of during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia–Herzegovina?
Yet, recently former British prime minister Tony Blair, one of the architects of
another war, arguably a far worse tragedy, was invited to lecture on "Rule of
Law and Good Governance" during a prestigious lecture series locally.
Last year, Sultan Azlan Shah, in his address at the opening of the 14th
Malaysian Law Conference entitled "50 Years of Constitutionalism and the Rule
of Law", reminded us that the rule of law is the defining feature of
democratic government. He said the rule of law means literally what it says.
Taken in its broadest sense, this means that people should obey the law and be
ruled by it. The ideal of the rule of law in this sense is often expressed by
the phrase "government by law and not by man".
He quoted Lord Woolf on the same subject: "The 'rule of law' is the rule by the
laws that govern a true democracy. They are the laws that provide for a proper
balance between the protection of human rights and the interests of the state.
Laws which an independent and responsible judiciary can enforce to protect all
members of society from abuse of power."
It is quite obvious from casual observation that someone who has been known to
have misled others, including the country's Parliament, has lost the moral
authority to preach about the rule of law and good governance.
According to some websites, such as
http://iraqdossier.com/blairslies, Blair seems to be implicated in many
such allegations.
In his lecture, Blair was quoted as saying that the rule of law also meant laws
that were clear, could be understood and applicable. "It means rules and
procedures that are transparent, and rules of evidence that make sense and are
fair. These basic principles apply universally and, without them, the rule of
law means little or nothing."
One wonders then what "basic principles" Blair had in mind when he gave an
almost unconditional support for the unilateral decision to invade Iraq against
the wishes of the international community and without the approval of the UN.
This war had resulted in hundreds of thousands killed senselessly, including
women and children.
What about those detained "illegally" against the very basic principles he now
advocates?
In the book entitled The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror
Turned into a War on American Ideals (2008), author Jane Mayer, a New Yorker
reporter, has this to say about the nefarious deeds of Blair's closest buddy:
"For the first time in its history, the United States sanctioned government
officials to physically and psychologically torment US–held captives, making
torture the official law of the land in all but name."
So much for "rules and procedures that are transparent, and rules of evidence
that make sense and are fair". It is even more shocking to find out that almost
half of all prisoners tortured were found to be innocent of harming the US in
any way, despite being in detention for years without being charged with any
crimes.
Indeed, as late as April 2006, when an eminent British former law lord attacked
Guantanamo Bay as "a stain on American justice", Blair reportedly refused to
follow suit. According to Lord Steyn, who just retired from Britain's highest
court: "While our government condones Guantanamo Bay, the world is perplexed
about our approach to the rule of law.
"You may ask: how will it help in regard to the continuing outrage at Guantanamo
Bay for our government now to condemn it. The answer is that it would at last be
a powerful signal to the world that Britain supports the international rule of
law."
With this dubious track record, what can we expect from Blair, who is also
currently the Middle East representative for the Quartet, namely the United
Nations, United States of America, Russia and European Union?
* The writer is the vice–chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia.