£4.6 million can't wash Tony Blair's hands clean

Via Stop the War circular:

Tony Blair has accumulated an astronomical fortune since he left office in 2007 - by some estimates it will soon reach £45 million.

If Tony Blair thought donating the proceeds from his soon to be published memoirs to charity would absolve him of his Iraq war crimes, he's very much mistaken. The £4.6 million that will go to help build a rehabilitation centre for seriously injured soldiers is very welcome, but no amount of money can buy innocence or forgiveness for Blair.

Peter Brierley, whose son was killed in Iraq, welcomed the donation but added his aim is still "that one day we will see Tony Blair in court for the crimes he committed."

Stop the War is mounting a campaign to get Waterstone's bookshop to cancel a book-signing it is hosting for Tony Blair on Wednesday 8 September, for reasons given by writers Iain Banks, John Pilger and AL Kennedy, composer Michael Nyman, ex-soldier Ben Griffin and others who wrote in a letter to the Guardian:

"This event will be deeply offensive to most people in Britain. A large majority of the British public say Mr Blair told lies and fabricated evidence to take Britain into a war with Iraq that he knew to be illegal under international law... The consequences for the Iraqi people has been hundreds of thousands of killed, 4 million more driven from their homes and the destruction of their country."

In the first instance we will be encouraging as many people as possible to write to Waterstone's asking the company to reconsider hosting Blair's book-signing (see below).

But if the event goes ahead, Stop the War will organise a protest at 12.30pm outside Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London, to ensure that the voice of Britain's anti-war majority is heard loud and clear as Blair signs his book.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

* EMAIL WATERSTONE'S NOW USING OUR E-LOBBY TOOL
It takes a couple of minutes using our model letter to send an instant message to Waterstone's urging them to cancel Tony Blair's book-signing. See HERE  

* JOIN THE PROTEST AT WATERSTONE'S ON 8 SEPTEMBER
If Blair's book-signing is not being cancelled, Stop the War will organise a protest at 12.30pm outside Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London. Please join us, if you can.

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