On August 30, western Sydney charged US President George Bush with war crimes committed during the immoral and illegal occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush was also charged with the crimes of assault on the environment, crimes against civil liberties and against workers. A People's Tribunal was held at the Parramatta Town Hall, and prosecuting witnesses included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib, Dennis Doherty (from the Anti-Bases Coalition and the Communist Party of Australia), Kamala Emanuel (environment spokesperson for the Socialist Alliance) and Ninos Tooma (Iraqi activist).
The court held a lively discussion after hearing from the witnesses and added "crime against the English language" to the list of charges.
Bush was invited to attend the People's Trial to give his defence but did not reply to the email.
Bush was sentenced by the people to the hardest, longest life sentence possible. Participants at he People's Tribunal vowed to take part in the September 8 Stop Bush protest.
[Rachel Evans is the Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Parramatta.]