Arundhati on World Tribunal on Iraq jury

The World Tribunal on Iraq, a grouping of non-governmental organisations and intellectuals, will give a hearing to "the voice of the suppressed" and deliver a verdict on the role of US President George W Bush [Images] and British Prime Minister Tony Blair [Images] in the developments in Iraq, author and social activist Arundhati Roy, now donning the role of a conscience juror for the organisation, has said.

The WTI's "aim is not to provide universal peace but to make people aware of information and facts that would otherwise remain hidden", Roy told Turkish daily Zaman in Istanbul, which is hosting the 16th and final session of the tribunal.

"History has always recorded the winners and we are trying to give a hearing to the voice of the suppressed", she said.

The Booker Prize winner for The God of Small Things also denounced the concept of peace used in political circles.

"There can be no peace without justice and justice could only be established through resistance", she told the paper.

The WTI will give its verdict on the role of Bush and Blair at the end of its session on June 27.

The 17-member Jury of Conscience of the Tribunal, which is registered as an NGO, will base its judgment on the evidence provided by a 58-member Panel of Advocates and witnesses.