Rumsfeld cancels trip after accusations

Interesting - but I was wondering if this was true - but it is also covered in a couple of other places. However - it will be noted that there are differences in the three stories....with varying levels of assertion re the cancellation being due to the filing of the complaint.....

From Al Jazeera net:

Rumsfeld cancels trip after accusations


Friday 21 January 2005, 13:23 Makka Time, 10:23 GMT

The US defence secretary was accused of war crimes

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cancelled a planned visit to Germany after a US human rights organisation asked German authorities to prosecute him for war crimes, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) has learned.

Rumsfeld has informed the German government via the US embassy that he will not take part in the Munich Security Conference in February, conference head Horst Teltschik told dpa on Thursday.

The New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights filed a
complaint in December with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld accusing him of war crimes and torture in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

Rumsfeld made it known immediately after the complaint was filed that he would not attend the Munich conference unless Germany quashed the legal action.

German legislation violations

The organisation alleges violations of German legislation, which
outlaws war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide independent of the place of crime or origin of the accused.

The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe reportedly is examining the
roughly 170-page complaint to see whether an investigation is warranted.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights said it and four Iraqis allegedly tortured in US custody filed a complaint with German authorities against Rumsfeld, former CIA director George Tenet and eight other senior military and civilian officials over abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq.

The organisation said it had turned to German prosecutors "as a court of last resort" because the US government "is unwilling to open an independent investigation" and had "refused to join the International Criminal Court".


http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8EBCFED0-6677-4F9F-B0D0-6995460FCEFA.htm



Other accounts:

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=16014&name=Rumsfeld+scraps+Munich+visitover+'war+crimes'+probe

Rumsfeld scraps Munich visit over war probe

21 January 2005

MUNICH - United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has cancelled a planned visit to Munich.

Rumsfeld has informed the German government via the US embassy he will not take part at the Munich Security Conference in February, conference head Horst Teltschik said.
The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed a complaint in December with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld accusing him of war crimes and torture in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

Rumsfeld had made it known immediately after the complaint was filed that he would not attend the

Munich conference unless Germany quashed the legal action.

The organisation alleges violations of German legislation which outlaws war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide independent of the place of crime or origin of the accused.

The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe reportedly is examining the roughly 170-page complaint to see if an investigation is warranted.

The Center for Constitutional Rights said it and four Iraqis tortured in US custody had filed a complaint with German authorities against Rumsfeld, former CIA director George Tenet and eight other senior military and civilian officials over abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq.

The organization said it had turned to German prosecutors "as a court of last resort" because the US government "is unwilling to open an independent investigation" and had "refused to join the International Criminal Court".

Several of those it wants investigated are stationed in Germany, it added.



http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1465263,00.html

Rumsfeld to Bypass Munich Conference



Rumsfeld won't be visiting Munich this year



US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will not attend the Munich Security Conference in February. Some say the cancellation is likely due to a war crimes complaint against him that was filed in a German court.

The head of the security conference, Horst Teltschik, said in Friday's edition of the Münchner Abendzeitung newspaper that Rumsfeld will instead send the number three official at the Pentagon, Douglas J. Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy.

"This will disappoint many people in Europe, because there is a real need for discussions about the Iran crisis," Teltschik told AFP.

Rumsfeld has excused himself from the high-profile talks on international defense policy claiming prior commitments. However, some have speculated that his decision not to attend the meeting was influenced by a complaint filed against him by a New York-based human rights group, the Center for Constitutional Rights.

In December, the group filed a complaint with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld, accusing him of war crimes and torture due to his involvement in the war in Iraq.

The defense secretary later sent a message to the German government through the US embassy in Berlin that he would not attend the Munich meeting if there is a chance a case will be launched against him in Germany. However, when he informed the German government he would not take part in the conference, he did not refer to the charges filed against him.

Among the participants expected to attend the February 11 to 13 meeting of security experts from around the world are UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, German President Horst Köhler and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Teltschik said that many US senators were expected to be in attendance.