Tutu wants Blair, Bush to pay for Iraq invasion

LONDON (AP):

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu wants Tony Blair and George Bush to face prosecution at the International Criminal Court for their role in the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq.

Tutu, the retired Anglican Church's archbishop of South Africa, wrote in an op-ed piece for The Observer newspaper that the ex-leaders of Britain and the United States (US) should be made to "answer for their actions".

The Iraq war "has destabilised and polarised the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history", wrote Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984.

"Those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in The Hague," he added.

The Hague, Netherlands-based court is the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal and has been in operation for 10 years. So far, it has launched prosecutions only in Africa, including in Sudan, Congo, Libya and Ivory Coast.

Tutu has long been a staunch critic of the Iraq war, while others opposed to the conflict, including playwright Harold Pinter, have previously called for Bush and Blair to face prosecution at The Hague.

"The then leaders of the US and UK fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand, with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us," said Tutu, who last week withdrew from a conference in South Africa because of Blair's presence at the event.