International Criminal Court For Crimes Against Humanity Begins Work

The Hague, Netherlands, March 11 (RHC) - The first permanent
international court for crimes against humanity began its work Tuesday
in The Hague,  with observers noting that no US official was present
when the judges took  their oaths. But despite US opposition, the gala
inauguration was attended by United Nations Secretary General Kofi
Annan and scores of visiting dignitaries, including two members of the
Allied prosecution team at  the Nuremberg trials. The court has
jurisdiction only in the 89 countries  that have signed and ratified
the 1998 Rome treaty establishing it, or in  cases referred to it by
the Security Council.

Britain, along with the rest of the European Union nations, has
ratified the treaty. That led to questions at a press conference in
The Hague about whether a British soldier could be tried before the
court for war  crimes that might be committed in a war with Iraq. But
court spokesman Sam  Muller said there are "thousands of
hypotheticals," and that first a  prosecutor has to be named and then
he or she has to deal with what he called "the  great, big messy world
we live in." One of President Clinton's final acts was  to approve the
accord, but the Bush administration revoked Clinton's  signature, and
later threatened to withhold US support for UN peacekeeping efforts
in Bosnia-Herzegovina unless the Security Council approved a blanket
exemption for Americans in the peacekeeping force.

The council granted a one-year exemption. Since then, the
administration has sought bilateral agreements with individual
nations, threatening to cut  off military aid unless they agree to not
hand over a US citizen to the  court. So far, 20 nations have signed
such accords. Human rights activists  have pointed out that the court
is prohibited from initiating cases, that it  is a last resort and not
a substitute for national courts, and that  therefore any nation with
the rule of law has nothing to fear.

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Second US Diplomat Resigns in Protest of Washington's Rust to War
Against Iraq

Washington, March 11 (RHC) - A second veteran US diplomat has resigned
in protest of Washington's rush to war against Iraq. John Brown, with
the  state department since 1981, sent a letter to Secretary of State
Colin Powell saying that he was renouncing his career because his
conscience  prevents him from supporting an Iraq policy that in the
entire world is seen as an unjustified use of force. Brown also stated
that due to the contempt  that President Bush holds for the points of
view of other countries, anti-American sentiments have grown worldwide.

Having served in US embassies in London, Prague, Kiev, Belgrade and
Moscow before being assigned as a resident diplomat at Georgetown
University  in the US capital, Brown said he supported his colleague
John Brady Kiesling -  who resigned for the same reasons over a week
ago. Kiesling, who worked as Political Counselor at the US embassy in
Athens, sent Powell an  extensive resignation letter in which he stated
that until the arrival of the  Bush administration it had been possible
to believe that by upholding the policies of his president he was also
upholding the interests of the American people and the world - adding
that he believes it no longer.

He said the policies that diplomats like himself are now asked to
advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with
American interests. Kiesling said the US's current course will bring
instability  and danger, not security, and affirmed that such
systematic distortion of intelligence, such systematic manipulation of
American opinion, have  not been seen since the war in Vietnam.

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British Cabinet Member Clare Short's Day Numbered After Blistering
Attack on Downing Street's Rush to War Against Iraq

London, March 11 (RHC) - British International Development Secretary
Clare Short's days as a cabinet minister are numbered after her
devastating  attack on Prime Minister Tony Blair's strategy on Iraq,
according to media  outlets in London. But according to The
Independent, Blair won't dismiss her  now for fear of fueling a growing
rebellion in his Labor Party over Iraq and prompting other ministers to
resign.

Blair's aides, after calling her criticism "treachery", said the
prime minister is too busy dealing with more important matters. Short
stunned  the political world on Sunday by threatening to resign unless
Britain won a fresh United Nations resolution before military action is
taken in  Iraq, branding Blair's approach as "extraordinarily
reckless," "a breach of international law," and "the undermining of the
United Nations."

Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister was "surprised"
by Short's remarks because she did not mention resigning when they held
a one-to-one meeting on Thursday last week. But Short contradicted
Downing Street's version of events, insisting she had raised her
anxieties at  every opportunity since the crisis began and that she
felt her concerns were  not being heard. 

-Radio Habana Cuba