Muslim groups have this week called for the arrest of visiting ex British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his role in the 2003 Iraq invasion. Yesterday, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu dramatically pulled out of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit because of fellow speaker Blair, and Muslims were stoked.

Blair is set to speak at the Sandton Convention Centre in Jozi on Thursday – the day when the majority of protest about his presence in South Africa are planned.

Yesterday, spokesperson for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement of South Africa (BDSSA), Mohammed Desai was very happy Tutu had dramatically pulled out of the summit, despite committing many months prior:

Those that are protesting Tony Blair’s presence in South Africa are celebrating the fact that Archbishop Desmond Tutu has taken this principled decision not to be associated with someone who has been, in many ways, one of the prime people behind several of our modern day wars.

Blair will face numerous Muslim representatives protesting at the convention centre this week, including the BDSSA. Muslim political party Al Jama-ah, another group that will be participating, said Blair was “complicit in the murder of thousands of people in Iraq and should be charged with war crimes in The Hague.”

Tutu yesterday categorically stated that he’d pulled out of the summit because of Blair’s role in the Iraq war. Muslim groups have also vowed to attempt citizen’s arrests on Blair if they get a chance.

So far, attempts to arrest Blair in other countries like China and Dublin, Ireland, have failed.

[Source: EWN]