I refer to the malaysiakini report The crushing of Fallujah and its people .

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has spearheaded the establishment of a 'War Crimes Tribunal'. True to form, Mahathir has already labelled George W Bush and Tony Blair 'war criminals' even before the tribunal has met and considered the evidence before it.

It is axiomatic that any such tribunal which considers horrendous crimes against humanity should be seen to be impartial and have members who have an unimpeachable record. Furthermore, a person who is the figure head of this 'War Crimes Tribunal' must have a moral authority.

Mahathir was a dictator and ruined democratic institutions in Malaysia to such an extent that it will take generations to restore our rights to their former level. I leave it fair-minded people of Malaysia and the world to decide if a character such as Mahathir has the qualifications to head a 'war crimes' commission based on the facts below:

  • Mahathir showed utter contempt for the campaign against genocide in East Timor.

  • He was the prime minister when the Apcet II conference was brutally disrupted by Umno thugs in cahoots with the Malaysian police. This was a conference highlighting the plight of the victims of genocide in East Timor. The 'war criminal' in this case was Mahathir's friend Suharto whom he backed to the hilt.

  • The Burmese government is an illegal criminal government. The rightful leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung Sang Suu Kyi, is under house arrest. Mahathir showed utter contempt for her democratic credentials by disgustingly commenting that 'she has her own agenda' . He placated the Burmese junta which has perpetrated well-documented war crimes against its own people.

  • Mahathir was a supporter of General Pinochet in Argentina whose regime brought down a democratically-elected government in a violent coup. Pinochet was also resposible for war crimes against his own people. Mahathir established trade links with this regime which benefitted his cronies.

  • Mahathir is a close friend of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who continues to commit war crimes against his own people. Last year, Mugabe initiated 'Operation Remove The Trash' which saw the homes of 100,000 poor people in Harare being bulldozed to rubble without any compensation being offered. This monster has presided over the ruin of Zimbabwe economically and the starvation of its people. Zimbabwe used to be the bread-basket of the region. Mahathir even provided rare Malaysian hardwood to Mugabe as a 'present'.

  • Mahathir's regime paid millions of dollars to an American lobby group in order to secure a handshake and photo opportunity with 'war criminal' George W Bush in May 2002, long after the 'war on terror' was initiated.

  • Mahathir has not shockingly failed to mention the on-going genocide in Dafur, which is one of the greatest and most evil man-made tragedies in recent times. Here the Muslim Sudanese regime has been accused of having a deliberate policy of genocide in Dafur where and estimated 300,000 people have been killed, 100,000 women raped and 2.5 million people made refugees.

    • It would appear then, that Mahathir's involvement in the 'War Crimes Tribunal' is a cheap publicity exercise which is hypocritical, self-serving and partisan. As such, it sadly trivialises and demeans the victims of war crimes.