A court in The Hague turned down a demand by a dozen plaintiffs who wanted to force the Dutch government to arrest US President George W Bush when he visits the Netherlands on Saturday, the judgement made public Wednesday said. Bush will be in the south of the Netherlands this weekend to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
The plaintiffs, mostly left-wing organisations and activists, accused Bush of "numerous grave violations of the Geneva Conventions". They also said the president is responsible for the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq and Washington's refusal to recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's first permanent war crimes court. In the judgement, dated on Tuesday, the court said that the case was political and that the demands "could have far-reaching consequences for US-Dutch relations". |