In a long-delayed action, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur. It is a great moment for the rule of law and justice.
al-Bashir is accused of masterminding a campaign to wipe out African tribes through murder, rape and deportation.
If the warrant is issued by the body in the Hague, it would make al-Bashir the first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for genocide. The warrant covers five counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity, and two counts of war crimes.
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The “obsessed” UN predecessors created Israel in the first place and started all of this mess to begin with. Are you kidding? The lunatics are in charge of the asylum. Every UN Resolution against Israel and its criminal, brutal, oppressive occupation is vetoed by the US. The US even got the UN to change the fact that Zionism is racism. Sharon was a war criminal that became the head of Israel. The last few leaders of Israel were also criminals to their own people and were involved in theft, embezzlement etc.
Whenever there is any vote against Israel it’s almost always unanimous – with a few frightened countries abstaining and the US and Israel voting against. Unfortunately the US veto defeats the will of over 100 other countries. So I guess, the US and Israel are right and the REST of the world is wrong. Israel has killed Palestinians and occupied their land for decades without any threat from the UN so only a propagandist would say that the UN is “obsessed” with Israel.
The UN, US and Israel can never be counted on to help the Palestinians, the Arabs and Muslims will have to be the ones to create a Palestine again. So save your propaganda for the zoo, because only monkeys and some Americans will swallow it.
I’m not so sure this is a “great moment for the rule of law and justice.” My concern is that given that the #1 (and grossly disproportionate) obsession of the UN (both the Security Council and the General Assembly) is Israel, and that one of the main proponents of the ICC is the famous lawyer M. Cherif Bassiouni (a CAIR speaker who’s written incredibly biased revisionist propaganda against Israel), is that this will set a precedent for the UN bringing charges against Israel. The thugs are in control of the UN.
Maybe Karl Rove skipped his subpoena in order to fly to a beach in Darfur to convince Bashir to turn himself in to the authorities in Crawford, TX. Then again, maybe not.
It would be a great moment for the rule of law and justice if this would lead to anything other than a worsened situation in Darfur.
Somehow I doubt that Bashir will simply hand himself over to the ICC.
What criteria does the ICC use to determine what’s Genocide?
George W. Bush may be the next President to be so designated.
Sudan doesn’t recognize the “International Criminal Court”:
Can the ICC intervene anywhere in the world?
No. Only the 106 countries who have signed the Rome Statute are open to ICC proceedings.
So how has the ICC become involved in Darfur?
The only way the court can investigate a country which has declined to sign the Rome Statue is by direct referral from the United Nations Security Council.
Where do yesterday’s proceedings leave President Omar al-Bashir?
So far, he has not been formally charged. Mr Moreno-Ocampo asked three ICC judges to charge Mr Bashir with three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The judges will take several months to consider this request.
Will Mr Bashir ever stand trial?
Probably not. Even if he is formally indicted, Sudan has made clear that it does not recognise the ICC. The regime which Mr Bashir leads is hardly going to hand him over, nor is any future Sudanese government likely to do so.
So why does this matter?
Even if he never stands trial, he may carry this stigma to his grave.
How might Mr Bashir respond?
By making life very difficult for foreign aid workers in Darfur. He may choose to turn the screw on the international relief effort. The UN and the African Union have jointly deployed peacekeepers in Darfur. Mr Bashir could make their life impossible.
If this happens, who will suffer?
The ordinary people of Darfur, millions of whom depend on international aid. In effect, Mr Bashir may retaliate against his own people for the ICC’s actions. He will then blame the West for their suffering. This tactic is standard practice among African governments.