So, as widely anticipated the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has laid charges of genocide and war crimes against Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir. With this move the plight of Darfuris just got a whole load more precarious. It's only a few hours since the announcement but already the UN has ordered all but essential staff to withdraw from the region.
Here's how one humanitarian worker feels right now:
"The potential implications of these indictments are many an depressing. Everything from anti-Western riots on the streets of Khartoum to government-backed attacks on UN targets to the expulsion of many or all international organizations. I imagine that this is a bit of what it feels like to wait for a grenade to explode".
The airwaves right now are full of the debate I wrote about earlier today: In whose interests do these indictments serve? The argument carrying most support right now seems to be that Moreno-Ocampo's bid to haul Al Bashir in front of the judges will do nothing to ease the suffering of Dafuris, only inflaming the situation as promises of more "blood and violence" are unleashed.
Rewind the clock a bit and you will remember it was the UN's Security Council that gave the green light to Moreno-Ocampo to investigate the Sudanese authorities in the first place - an irony not lost on Sudanese Thinker.
"What is ironic is that the UN insists on deploying all peacekeepers and pushing the peace process forward, yet at the same time it is coordinating badly with the ICC initiative, which in turn will only hurt the UN’s peace agenda for Darfur".
For anyone wondering what is going on Moreno-Ocampo's head, here it is from the horse's mouth...
"In the camps Bashir's forces kill the men and rape the women. I don't have the luxury to look away. I have evidence."
Perhaps. No doubt. But how exactly does he intend to get Al Bashir to The Hague?
Thanks for giving good information.braindump
Posted by: braindump | July 11, 2009 at 02:45 PM