There is so much going on in the world today. It is difficult to keep up. Did you see that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and requested his indictment. I was glad to see someone being held accountable for the atrocities taking place in Darfur.
The prosecutor's request for an indictment sent shockwaves throughout the world. T
he Sudanese government stated that the ICC prosecutor's request for indictment on genocide charges was a "declaration of war". The UN responded by pulling non-essential staff from the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission.The ICC's prosecutor's request for the indictment of Bashir is a major development in the international process seeking accountability for the horrific crimes in Darfur. Of course, the process is more difficult for the ICC because Bashir doesn't recognize their authority ... a position that is in harmony with George Bush.
Is
it too much to hope that Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, would lead UN Security Council efforts to enforce the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Sudanese government minister, Ahmad Harun, and Janjawid militia leader, Ali Kushayb? Both men were charged with war crimes similar to those brought against Bashir and continue to remain at large.This past April, Amnesty International ramped up efforts to achieve accountability by co-founding the global “Justice for Darfur” coalition. The coalition has sent tens of thousands of messages to world leaders, asking them to pressure Sudan to hand over suspected war criminals to the ICC for prosecution.
We need these world leaders, including Secretary Condie Rice, to get more peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur to protect the citizens from a government accused of systematic genecide.
What say u?
6 comments:
wow...
Thanks for sharing this, I have not been up on much Darfur news in the past couple of weeks.
I'm off to go do some reading...
Hello there Villager!
I was reading online about the problems that have been faced with the lack of resources for the peacekeepers and the DIRE straits that the peacekeepers have encountered...
There is a systematic barrier that has intentionally been fortified by the U.S. government in keeping REAL peace from occuring in Darfur...
The U.S. can not claim that it has done all that it can....
Thank you for writing about this.
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
Regina & Lisa - It is important that we as African Americans keep up-to-speed on conditions in Africa. At some point we are going to remember that we are connected to other parts of the diaspora and we'll need to reach out to one another from across the ocean...
In this case, I agree that the United States has not been doing our best. However, I must give Bush credit. I feel that he has done more than any past president... not in Darfur, but in other parts of the continent...
Whoa, I just didnt think anyone had the pair to call a spade a spade. The UN and it's courts are notorious for beating around the bush on these issues, I am truely surprised.
Much more complicated than we would like to believe, the situation in Darfur is something we should all keep up on.
I personally support the measure as does "Save Darfur" and "The Enough Project" whose has proposed exactly how this can be done with success. There are many nay sayers to this plan however Alex de Wahl the most well known among them, and a variety of Sudanese bloggers thought out the blogesphere, all who we try to keep up with via our Darfur Blog.
It is sad to me that we are at a catch-22 where it felt by many that peace can not be preserved in the name of justice so justice should not be served.
I believe the only way to do it is to go for this prosecution, it will take bravery on the part of the people of Sudan and all over the world, but I believe if done successfully it will go a long way to preventing something like this from happening again. Much further than diplomacy and deciding to ignore a genocide in the name of peace.
Thank you for keeping this in the light. The people of Darfur just do not want us to forget.
Mike - I think that the ICC and this Argentian prosecutor are doing the right thing. Hopefully, other nations ... including the USA ... will support the efforts to bring Bashir to justice for his crimes against humanity.
Cooper - It is very confusing and complicated. I appreciate the work that you and others are doing. I'm simply trying to keep myself and other villagers that read this blog up to speed...
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