Najib calls for 'citizen veto' on war
Published: Dec 18, 2005 11:36 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for democratic countries to give their citizens the right to decide whether they should go to war.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for democratic countries to give their citizens the right to decide whether they should go to war.
"Perhaps it is high time to allow intelligent voters in democratic countries to exercise their veto each time their government decides to go to war outside their own borders," Najib told an international peace forum here.
"If people in the free world have the time to vote for their national idols according to their quality of singing, if they can decide whether to impose the death penalty on their citizen criminals, why can they not be given the moral choice whether to inflict certain death on innocent people abroad?" he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
In a closing address at the peace forum hosted by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, Najib also received a 14-point document drafted by a committee of speakers, called the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalise War.
The document included calls to criminalise all commercial and scientific activities that aid war, and for national leaders who initiate aggression to be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Mugabe speech cancelled
The peace forum was overshadowed by the presence of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, whose planned speech on Friday was cancelled after organisers blamed a scheduling problem.
Mahathir had been forced to defend the involvement of Mugabe, who is accused of massive human rights abuses and driving his country to ruin.
Mahathir, who retired in October 2003 after 22 years in power, was an ally of Mugabe, with the two men sharing a love of anti-Western rhetoric stoked by a history of British colonialism in both countries.
Other speakers at the forum which ended Saturday included former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke and prominent Iraq war opponent, British MP George Galloway.
"Perhaps it is high time to allow intelligent voters in democratic countries to exercise their veto each time their government decides to go to war outside their own borders," Najib told an international peace forum here.
"If people in the free world have the time to vote for their national idols according to their quality of singing, if they can decide whether to impose the death penalty on their citizen criminals, why can they not be given the moral choice whether to inflict certain death on innocent people abroad?" he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
In a closing address at the peace forum hosted by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, Najib also received a 14-point document drafted by a committee of speakers, called the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalise War.
The document included calls to criminalise all commercial and scientific activities that aid war, and for national leaders who initiate aggression to be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Mugabe speech cancelled
The peace forum was overshadowed by the presence of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, whose planned speech on Friday was cancelled after organisers blamed a scheduling problem.
Mahathir had been forced to defend the involvement of Mugabe, who is accused of massive human rights abuses and driving his country to ruin.
Mahathir, who retired in October 2003 after 22 years in power, was an ally of Mugabe, with the two men sharing a love of anti-Western rhetoric stoked by a history of British colonialism in both countries.
Other speakers at the forum which ended Saturday included former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke and prominent Iraq war opponent, British MP George Galloway.
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