Tutu
tells Blair: Apologise
For 'Immoral' War
By Nigel Morris
Independent
16 February 2004
Archbishop Desmond Tutu will challenge
Tony Blair and George Bush today to apologise for their pursuit of a
counter-productive and "immoral" war in Iraq.
In a scathing analysis
of the background to the invasion, he will ridicule the "dangerously
flawed" intelligence that Britain and the US used to justify a
military action which has made the world a "great deal less safe".
The intervention
of the Nobel peace prize winner in the controversy over Iraq follows
a series of deadly terrorist attacks in the country over the past week,
including an armed raid on a police station on Saturday in which 22
people died.
Delivering the Longford
Lecture, sponsored by The Independent, the emeritus Archbishop of Cape
Town will argue that the turmoil after the war proved it is an illusion
to believe that "force and brutality" leads to greater security.
"How wonderful
if politicians could bring themselves to admit they are only fallible
human creatures and not God and thus by definition can make mistakes.
Unfortunately, they seem to think that such an admission is a sign of
weakness. Weak and insecure people hardly ever say 'sorry'.
"It is large-hearted
and courageous people who are not diminished by saying: 'I made a mistake'.
President Bush and Prime Minister Blair would recover considerable credibility
and respect if they were able to say: 'Yes, we made a mistake'."
The archbishop will
link Mr Bush's support, when he was Governor of Texas, for capital punishment
with a new philosophy behind the invasion of Iraq. He will say: "It
may not be fanciful to see a connection between this and the belligerent
militarist policies that have produced a novel and dangerous principle,
that of pre-emption on the basis of intelligence reports that in one
particular instance have been shown can be dangerously flawed and yet
were the basis for the United States going to war, dragging a Britain
that declared that intelligence reports showed Iraq to have the capacity
to launch its weapons of mass destruction in a matter of minutes.
"An immoral
war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than
before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their
weight about so callously and with so much impunity."
The archbishop,
who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984, will suggest that the two leaders
have operated a policy of "might is right - and to hell with the
rule of international law".
Sir Menzies Campbell,
the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said yesterday: "These
comments from such a widely respected figure of independent mind emphasises
the extent to which Britain's reputation and possibly influence have
been affected by the military action against Iraq.
"I doubt if
President Bush or Mr Blair are going to apologise, but they should certainly
reflect seriously upon the alienation of figures such as Desmond Tutu."
A Downing Street
spokeswoman said: "The Government's position on Iraq has been made
clear. We will wait to see what the archbishop says and respond in due
course."
In his lecture the
archbishop will draw on his experience in South Africa after the downfall
of apartheid to argue that "retributive justice" ignores victims'
needs and can be "cold and impersonal".
He will instead
champion the concept of "restorative justice" - in which offenders
and victims are brought together - and point to South Africa's Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, which he headed, as an illustration of
the idea being put into practice.
Now 72, the archbishop
is spending several weeks in Britain in his role as visiting professor
in post-conflict studies at King's College, London.
He will also take
a swipe in his speech at the steady increase in the British prison population
in recent years, arguing that harsher sentencing does not "stem
the tide of recidivism". He will warn that sending first-time offenders
to prison increases the prospect of them becoming repeat offenders,
making harsh sentences "quite costly".