Wednesday, February 10, 2010

January 15, 2009 23:03 PM

APA To Haul Israel To International Criminal Court

JAKARTA, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The Asian Parliamentary Association (APA) will haul Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICI) for war crimes, said APA president Agung Laksono on Thursday.

He said the move was in line with the resolution at an emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (PUIC) member states in Istanbul, Turkey on wednesday.

"Speakers of Asian parliaments will bring the guilty to the ICI as war criminals," said Agung, Speaker of the Indonesia parliament, as reported by Antara, the Indonesian news agency.

He said if the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, who was accused of killing 168 people could be sentenced to death, then Israel's atrocities in Gaza must be investigated and the individuals responsible brought to justice.

Agung said the PUIC emergency session discussed three main matters which were an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza and lifting the blockade to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid from all over the world.

"The ICI will be approached speedily on the war crimes," Agung said, accompanied at a news conference by Abdillah Toha, head of Indonesia's inter-parliamentary cooperation body.

Agung said the support of Islamic countries to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not at an optimum level and the PUIC emergency meeting attended by speakers of 47 parliaments resolved to exert political pressure to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"What is important is that humanitarian aid be channeled immediately to the Palestinians who are suffering," he said, adding that he and the speakers of Syria and Iran also met Hizbullah leader, Sheikh Nasrullah, in his hideout in Beirut.

Israel's atrocities till Wednesday has resulted in more than 1,000 Palestinians being killed, a third of them children.

-- BERNAMA

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