Azeem Ibrahim: The Fate of Dictators — Justice and Revenge

clips from article:

In a civilized world, President Assad and tyrants like him responsible for crimes against humanity can and should be brought to justice by a process which reflects the underlying principles of the Nuremberg trials. The laws and procedures by which the Nuremberg trials were to be conducted were established after much deliberation in the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal issued on August 8, 1945. The charter stipulated that three categories of crimes were to be tried; war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. Two judges from each of the four victorious countries presided over the trials, which historically has been viewed as a process of great restraint and judicial fairness, especially compared with Stalin’s offer to summarily execute 50,000 German prisoners.

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The cycle of tyranny followed by violent revenge leading to further tyranny can be stopped as South Africa has proved with its post-Apartheid process of reconciliation. A fair trial televised and covered by international media has the same effect, with the result not always satisfying everyone but at least justice has been seen to be done, on a level beyond national legal systems which may be inadequate, partisan or corrupt. That is why the International Criminal Court should have more standing in the world today and why it is time the United States reconsidered its opposition to the court in the interest of promoting global justice. ..

Absent a genuine process of reconciliation, the International Criminal Court may be the best way forward for countries after being torn apart by civil war, caught between the forces of newly expressed freedom and long standing dictatorships. At least, it could put those responsible for crimes against humanity and genocide on trial according to international standards, in the hope that this will become the basis of future peacekeeping and order. It may also encourage countries to contribute to multinational peacekeeping missions if the end game of trial and punishment were to be supervised by the International Criminal Court, and it might encourage dictators to leave with some dignity intact instead of being dragged muddy and bloody from a spider hole or a ditch, by an enraged mob intent on violent revenge...

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