Former President George W. Bush has canceled a trip to a charity event in Switzerland where he was to speak about freedom and offer reflections on his presidency. It was unclear if he was to be paid for his speaking and reflecting. The AP reported that a spokesman for next week’s event said “The calls to demonstrate were sliding into dangerous terrain.”
On what would have been his first trip to Europe after leaving office Bush might have had quite a greeting. Mimicking the time in Baghdad 2008 when at a secure news event George Bush was assaulted with a shoe thrown by an Iraqi journalist, protest rally organizers wanted demonstrators to bring a shoes to the event.
It seems a very small price to pay for starting a war and authorizing torture (allegedly, says the Washington Post story).
However the Post mentions another bit of potential trouble for our former “decider” President, perhaps more serious than facing crowds armed with shoes for throwing. Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights are requesting a criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors over Bush’s admission in his recent memoirs that he personally authorized water boarding torture.
The Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement that they had planned to bring the complaint under the Convention Against Torture* on behalf of two of men, Majid Khan, who remains at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Sami al-Hajj, a former al-Jazeera cameraman who was released in May 2008. The 2,500-page complaint will not be filed in court, but will be released Monday at a media event in Switzerland.
* The U.N. Convention Against Torture was signed by Pres. Reagan in 1988
The Swiss maintain Bush would have immunity, but the Center for Constitutional Rights says no such immunity exists under the Convention Against Torture and plan to persist. Similar charges were thrown out against former Bush Sec.of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
“Whatever Bush or his hosts say, we have no doubt he canceled his trip to avoid our case,” the center’s statement said. “The message from civil society is clear: If you’re a torturer, be careful in your travel plans. It’s a slow process for accountability, but we keep going.”
…the Swiss have a well-earned reputation as the planet’s hotheads. “Dangerous terrain,” indeed.
VT and Switzerland: two places G. W. Bush is afraid to tread.
Bush, with his neo-con agenda, has made world travel considerably less free and safe for Americans. It’s about time he personally feels the squeeze.
By being so glib about torture, Dumbya just sped up the process… his west-Texas Wasillabilly act don’t play so well outside our borders.
The lists of places he can safely travel is pretty short – maybe non-existent. After the recent doings in Tunisia and Egypt, I bet even Dubai, Qatar and even his kissy-face buddies in Saudi Arabia might tell him to stay home.