Region should declare Bush persona non grata - Fadlallah Daily Star staff Monday, January 14, 2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Sunday that Arab and Muslim countries should declare US President George W. Bush persona non grata and sue him for "war crimes" against their peoples. Fadlallah's statement came as Bush was visiting Gulf Arab countries to drum up Arab support for confronting Iran and pushing forward the Middle East peace process.
"We want our Muslim and Arab people to bid the American president farewell, declaring that he is a persona non grata who represents crimes," Fadlallah said in a statement released on Sunday. "He should soon be tried as a war criminal and a prominent symbol of terrorism in the world."
The cleric said the years Bush has spent in office were the "bloodiest" since World War II and coincided with the most "unjust crimes and massacres in our region, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan and Palestine."
Fadlallah added that Bush has over the past seven years "spread chaos and destruction in most of our countries."
Fadlallah also mocked Bush's vision of a Palestinian state, saying that "Arabs and Muslims are now aware" that the Palestinian state on offer by the US administration "is not going to be more than a real prison."
The Arab world has in recent days seen several protests condemning Bush's visit. On Saturday Bahrainis held placards with slogans such as "Bush not welcome," while others held Iraqi, Palestinian, Hizbullah, Leban-ese and Bahraini flags during a protest outside the US Embassy in Manama.
Fadlallah said Arab countries should also tell Bush that his attempts to entice it against Iran will not work. "Attempts to portray Iran as a threat and strategic enemy have failed," Fadlallah said. "It has been clear that the motive behind creating an enemy for the Muslims from within is to boost the sales of American weapons." - The Daily Star