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The top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Argentine Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has sought the arrest of the first sitting head-of-state to be indicted by the ICC for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur. Moreno-Ocampo has presented his evidence in court, and has requested a warrant on 10 counts, three of them for genocide. The charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity include allegations of murder, torture, attacks against civilians, and pillaging.
The UN estimates that up to 300,000 people have died since the Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Accused of masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked a three-judge panel at the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on genocide charges.
The accused, Sudanese President General Omar al-Bashir, asserts the alibi that what his government has done is nothing but counter-insurgency. al-Bashir’s African Islamist regime introduced Sudan to a more radical brand of Islam and elements of Sharia law. The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime, for a greater share of resources and power.
International Criminal Court (ICC) top prosecutor Argentine Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Moreno-Ocampo has evidence to prove that al-Bashir had “personally instructed” his forces to annihilate three ethnic groups in the western Sudanese region. He had ordered his forces “not to bring back any wounded or prisoners." Moreno-Ocampo defends this as al-Bashir “wanting to commit genocide.”
According to the ICC top prosecutor, what happened in Darfur is a consequence of al-Bashir’s will. He said that the crime of genocide is a crime of intention. This means that al-Bashir had the intention to destroy the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups that were engaged in a rebellion in Darfur.
For the prosecution, all of al-Bashir’s crimes were aimed at civilians, and not rebel groups. The prosecution had collected evidence showing that al-Bashir's target group, some 2.5 million people who are now displaced and found in refugee camps, was being attacked with the aim of elimination through the use of state machinery that include the army and intelligence services, as well as the Janjaweed militia.
They all report to him. They all obey him. His control is absolute.
Prosecution Panel in the al-Bashir genocide case at the ICC
Three main weapons are used to attack them in the camps: rape, hunger, fear. They are the most effective methods to commit genocide today, in front of our eyes.
Moreno-Ocampo’s campaign for justice comes at a cost. There have been warnings that it could fan the flames of tension in Darfur, undermine cooperation with the UN, and result in the expulsion of aid workers and peacekeepers in Sudan's troubled western region. Sudan immediately rejected the bid as damaging to Darfur peace hopes.
The three judges of the court will now examine the application to ascertain whether there are sufficient grounds for issuing a warrant. According to the prosecutor, this process may take two to three months.
Despite being under a United Nations-imposed obligation to execute any resultant warrants, the Sudanese government has refused to surrender two suspects named last year for war crimes in Darfur.
The courts, being what they are, will grind slower than what is hoped for. Even if universal jurisdiction can be levied against al-Bashir and will thus make him unable to run to and hide in a mansion in the Caribbean or the Pacific should he decide to build mansions there, time will still be on al-Bashir’s side. A lot can happen in those two or three months when the judges at the ICC examine Moreno-Ocampo’s application for warrant of arrest.
Lives may continue to be lost, including those of peacekeepers and aid workers. al-Bashir’s allies can come to his rescue and do all sorts of things, blatant or otherwise, for the genocider to get off the hook.
The UN may again prove to be inutile in diplomatic negotiations as it had shown in Zimbabwe.
I’m not sure if the justice system is the right tool to halt the doings of tyrants and dictators. But in the free world, it seems to be the only logical way.
Logical – only until that point in time when we all realize that justice delayed is justice denied.
