Kissinger Admits Possible Errors on Vietnam

Henry Kissinger yesterday responded to calls for his arrest for allegedly aiding and abetting war crimes by admitting that mistakes were "quite possibly" made by the administrations in which he served.

As the former US secretary of state told an audience of British business leaders at the Royal Albert Hall in London that the issue was whether courts were the right place to determine what had happened, protesters calling for his arrest staged a demonstration outside. They accused him of involvement in war crimes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The 78-year-old told the Institute of Directors: "No one can say that he served in an administration that did not make mistakes. The decisions made in high office are usually 51-49 decisions, so it is quite possible that mistakes were made. The issue is whether 30 years after the event courts are the appropriate means by which determination is made."

Mr Kissinger said it would be impossible to recall every one of the thousands of cases he dealt with every day when he was in office, and that the US government had decided it would deal with questions about past policies, adding: "It is not a refusal on my part to answer questions."

However, documents obtained by the Guardian show that the British authorities had to turn down requests from Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish judge responsible for the arrest of Augusto Pinochet, to question the former US secretary of state, because Mr Kissinger had personally refused to answer questions.

"We have spoken to Henry Kissinger's office. Mr Kissinger has refused to give evidence on his knowledge of the events mentioned in your rogatory commission. Apparently he has taken this decision on the advice of the US state department," a Spanish translation of the document sent to Judge Garzon said.

"According to British law it is not possible to take evidence from a witness without their consent. We regret, therefore, that we cannot help you with this request."

The document said that both the US state department and Mr Kissinger had said that if the request was sent through the US authorities, his attitude might change.

Earlier yesterday human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell made an unsuccessful legal move to have Mr Kissinger arrested under the Geneva Convention Act 1957, for the "killing, injuring and displacement" of 3 million Vietnamese and Cambodian people during the Vietnam war.

However, Mr Tatchell said he believed the wording of the ruling had left open the possibility that he might issue a warrant in the future if he could produce stronger evidence against Mr Kissinger.

"It is now my intention to liaise with human rights lawyers and organisations in the US in order to obtain further evidence and witnesses. I hope to come back to court in a few months time and make a new application for Mr Kissinger's arrest," he said.

Mr Kissinger arrived at the conference via a side entrance, ignoring reporters' questions over whether he had been involved in war crimes.

Outside the hall Guy Taylor, from Globalise Resistance, said: "Henry Kissinger will not travel to Spain, France, Switzerland and lots of countries in South America because he knows he will be arrested. But he has been swanning in and out of London for years."