6 - 12 December 2001
Issue No.563
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 December 2001 Issue No.563 |
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Sharon's blood-drenched hands
Life is gradually flowing back into the efforts to indict Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Belgium, which had been sidelined by the 11 September attack on the US and the US-led 'war against terror' that followed it, Amira Howeidy reports.
Last week, the Brussels court of appeal held its first hearing session to decide whether or not Belgium is legally entitled to investigate the case brought against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and others for their role in the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon during the 1982 Israeli invasion. The session, which lasted three hours, allowed both sides to present their views to the judge who, in turn, decided to postpone the hearing to 23 January in order to allow both sides to better prepare their arguments.
The case brought against Sharon was initiated last June by over 20 victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The victims accused Sharon, the then defense minister, and others of acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The complaint was accepted due to the fact that Belgian law allows for universal jurisdiction. An investigation was launched in July, but the examining magistrate quickly suspended in September in order to ask an appeals court to decide whether the matter falls within its jurisdiction.
The examining magistrate argued that Sharon's role had already been investigated by a judicial body, namely the Kahan commission, an administrative committee formed by Israel in the aftermath of the massacre in order to investigate the events. Therefore, Sharon should not be tried again. The magistrate also argued that the massacre has no link with Belgium and therefore it was outside that country's jurisdiction to look into the case. The court of appeal decided to hold its first hearing on 3 October , but that action was pre-empted by Sharon appointing a lawyer to represent him personally - a development that reflected his serious concern. The first hearing session was then postponed at the request of Sharon's newly appointed lawyer, who insisted that he needed more time to study the case. The court postponed the hearing until 28 November
According to a statement issued during the hearing session by the Arab-European League (AEL), a Belgian NGO that is spearheading the case against Sharon, the attorney general "was rather supportive of the argumentation held by the plaintiffs' lawyers; however, he did note some points that must be clarified."
Meanwhile, the case seems to be winning increasing support within Belgium's political classes following the announcement by three senators from the Belgian lower house of their decision to join a Sabra and Shatila support committee in a press conference last week.
Another show of interest related to the massacre was also voiced last week by British journalist Robert Fisk who, in an article in The Independent, argued that, contrary to widespread belief, the Sabra and Shatila massacres were not executed on the 16 to 18 September 1982 only. Fisk went on to argue that the killings continued after the 18th and "were still going on while we walked through the camps." More chilling evidence, never made public before, is expected to emerge over the course of the case should the court of appeal decide that Belgium is competent to investigate the massacre.
More than 2000 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese citizens were killed in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
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