By IRNA,
London : Ireland’s socialist republican party Eirigi has called on Irish police to arrest former British prime minister Tony Blair for war crimes when he launched his autobiography at a book-signing event in Dublin on Saturday.
“Tony Blair is a war criminal, with the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians on his hands. Alongside his US allies, Blair launched brutal and bloody wars against the people of Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Eirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mhaistír.
“More than 1.3 million Iraqis are believed to have been killed during the illegal invasion and subsequent occupation. This man should be arrested and put before the International Criminal Court,” Mac An Mhaistír said.
“In Afghanistan, casualties continue to mount as the occupation and slaughter of civilians continues. Blair’s justifications for these invasions are a tissue of lies and deceit. His book is an attempt to rewrite history and justify his role in these illegal wars,” he said.
Eirígí, which seeks the reunification of Ireland, joined in a protest against Blair while being interviewed by RTE television on Friday night.
During the interview, the former British premier denied that he believed he was a war criminal or had blood on his hands for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Mac An Mhaistír also criticised Blair for overseeing “the normalisation of the British occupation” of Northern Ireland and the ‘murder by pro-British forces of nationalist civilians.”
“The book promotion in Eason’s (bookshop in Dublin) is an insult to the victims of Blair’s war crimes and Eason’s should withdraw their invitation to him,” he said.
The protest against the book-signing ceremony was organized by the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM) amid tight security. A book of condolences was also opened for the victims of his military actions and foreign policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.