New Belgian government agrees to replace war crimes law
The Associated Press Jul. 13, 2003
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt took office as head of a
new center-left government Saturday that immediately
agreed to replace a war crimes law which has soured
Belgium's relations with the United States.
In their first major decision after being sworn in by
King Albert II, the 15 government ministers agreed to
supplant the 1993 law which has been used to target
leaders from the United States, Britain, Israel and
other nations.
"Changing the universal competence law is a priority of
this government," Verhofstadt said.
Under the new bill, which is expected to be approved by
parliament in early August, only cases with a direct
link to Belgium will be considered, ruling out
complaints like those filed after the Iraq war against
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and leading American
officials headed by President George W. Bush.
Verhofstadt had promised to change the law after the
Bush administration reacted angrily to such cases and
threatened Brussels' role as NATO headquarters.
After the inaugural meeting of the new government,
Verhofstadt said abuse of the law for political ends
would not longer be tolerated. However he said cases
where the victim or suspect were Belgian citizens or
residents would stand.
The existing law allows Belgian courts to hear war
crimes complaints regardless of where the events
occurred or the nationality of those involved.
Previous changes allowing the Belgian authorities to
quickly reject cases against officials from democratic
governments had failed to calm American unease over the
law.
Verhofstadt said he hoped the revised law would resolve
the issue. He said additional safeguards will also be
introduced to ensure international rules on diplomatic
immunity are written into the law.
The changes were in line with an agreement reached by
the socialist and liberal parties in preparation for
the formation of the new government.
Lawyers said then that cases lodged against Cuban
leader Fidel Castro or Chad's former dictator Hissene
Habre could continue because they involved Belgian
plaintiffs.
Verhofstadt unveiled his new ministerial team Saturday,
almost two months since his liberals and their
socialist allies were re-elected in a national ballot.
Several leading ministers in the previous government
kept their posts, including Foreign Minister Louis
Michel and Defense Minister Andre Flahaut, both
outspoken critics of the US-led war on Iraq.
Finance Minister Didier Reynders was also reappointed,
promising tax cuts to boost Belgium's flagging economy.
The absence of Green ministers is the main difference
from the outgoing Verhofstadt government. Belgium's two
environmentalist parties were excluded after faring
badly in the May elections.
The new five-party coalition is formed by the liberal
and socialist parties from Belgium's Dutch- and
French-speaking regions, and a smaller Flemish regional
party which has one minister.
There are five women ministers, including Laurette
Onkelinx, appointed justice minister and one of four
vice-premiers.
The youngest member of the team, Environment Minister
Freya Van den Bossche, is just 28 and the daughter of
the outgoing Health Minister Luc Van den Bossche, who
leaves the government.
"This is a good team that mixes experience and youthful
talent and has a lot of women," Verhofstadt said as he
left the palace.
A liberal from Belgium's Dutch-speaking north,
Verhofstadt, 50, was first elected prime minister in
1999. The liberals and socialists increased their
majority in this May's election, winning 97 of the 150
seats in the Chamber of Representatives.
However agreeing a government program took weeks of
negotiations between free-market liberals seeking to
cut taxes and socialists hoping for more money to fund
employment projects and boost health spending.
The government's objectives include creating 200,000
new jobs over its four-year term, cutting taxes by -800
million (US$920 million) a year and increasing health
spending by some 4 percent.
Additional income should come from a stepped-up fight
against financial fraud, a partial tax amnesty for
funds hidden in foreign accounts and higher duties on
fuel and tobacco.
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