Bush a war criminal: Arundhati

New Delhi, Mar 2 (UNI) Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, the tireless campaigner for human rights, today joined the countrywide chorus of protests against the Bush visit, saying the US President ''is a war criminal responsible for bloodshed and death in Iraq and its continued devastation''.

Lending a powerful voice to the protests, Ms Roy accused Mr Bush of destroying the economies of several countries and said he was here to wreck India's economy.

A fierce critic of the US President and his administration, the author had distributed leaflets flaying the American military invasion of Iraq on the city streets in the run up to the visit.

Ms Roy said Mr Bush had created an affluent class, pushing crore of people into abyss of poverty. ''He represents the brand of the neo-con (neo-colonialism). He is a coward,'' she said.

Her description of Mr Bush as a ''neo-con'' is redolent of the Rolling Stones' new song attacking the American President, 'Sweet Neo-con' which says, ''He says he is a Christian, I say he is a hypocrite. He says he is a patriot, I say he is a crack of s**t''.

UNI SKS FZ AK RS1900