Comments on: Africa’s Position on the ICC

By: Paco de Onís

Paco de Onís — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:32:46 +0000

Regarding the Darfur crisis, I must say I’ve never seen anything get President al-Bashir’s and the international community’s attention like the threat of an ICC warrant has. That alone makes Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo’s request for an indictment a positive step.

By: Khalid Yousif

Khalid Yousif — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:38:46 +0000

Dr. Khalid
I realy liked the proverb “The camel continues walking while the dog barks. ”. limiting the ICC indictment and portraying it as a conflict between Luis Ocampo and the Sudanese government is an unjustice done to Darfurian victims. Western double-standards is admitted, but victims are waiting for a glimpse of light to end the atrocities committed to them around the country. I wonder sir, will the history forgive us if we went for a defferal on the basis that western powers are immune and will not be prosecuted by ICC. Untill when the camel will wreak havoc in our country without being bitten once by the barking dogs.And untill when are you going to hail insistence on destroying our country. Thanks are due to the dogs who are trying to do their best.

By: Khalid AlMubarak

Khalid AlMubarak — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:40:27 +0000

L. Moreno -Ocampo has taken the ICC into a cul de sac . A deferral will be a body blow to the embattled Court which badly needs some success after ten fruitless years. If the pretrial judges lean Ocamplo’s way the position will be -come more complicated.The Court is toothless. A long -drawn process will ensue in order to bully Sudan . Military occupation is out of the question for practical as well as political reasons . More sanctions will face resistance and not only from China and Russia .The prosecutor has ” swallowed a morsel which is too large for his throat” as the Sudanese proverb goes. He is bound to choke .
He, however,is not an individual . Something is wrong in an international order which allows one person (who has no advisors) to embarrass the great democracies which selected him for the job .The ICC’s loss of a case in the International Labour Organisation’s Administrative Tribunal on 9th July (mainly because of L.Moreno-Ocampo’s faulty judgement )should have been a warning signal .
Sudan’s best option is to carry on implementing the CPA and the DPA .Elections should be held. The referendum should be organised in 2011.
In our desert culture “The camel continues walking while the dog barks. ”
Sudan is the main partner in the project of Peace and democratisation which was brokered by the USA, Britain and our neighbours .If they abdicate their responsibility and hand over their collective leadership to one man; we should carry on because what is at stake is the future of our country .

By: Beshir Gedda

Beshir Gedda — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:52:51 +0000

Another point underscores the double standard of the international community on universal jurisdiction. General Karenzi Kareke, the UNAMID Deputy Force Commander, was indicted by a Spanish magistrate earlier this year on charges that he had committed crimes against humanity while serving with the Rwandese Patriotic Army in DRC. As soon as the Rwandese Government made it clear that it would consider pulling out its forces from UNAMID if Gen. Karenzi was removed from his post, the UN backed down. Apparently the United States insisted that the arrest warrant be ignored in the interests of maintaining UNAMID’s presence. So he remains in post doing his job. In July, legal counsel at UN headquarters instructed UN staff to avoid meeting with President Bashir (who is not yet indicted) but they do business with Gen. Karenzi (who has been indicted) on a daily basis. There is one standard for Rwandese and another for Sudanese, or maybe one standard for those who are helpful to the Americans and the UN, and another for those who are unpopular in Washington DC and Turtle Bay. Look no further for proof that international arrest warrants are 100% political.

By: Alex de Waal

Alex de Waal — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:55:54 +0000

The Communique of the PSC meeting on Monday is available here.

By: Beshir Gedda

Beshir Gedda — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:18:34 +0000

The Bashir case will be the last case for the ICC. After Darfur, the UN Security Council will never again refer a case to the ICC. China will veto it. No African country will cooperate with the ICC. The ICC will never go to Iraq or Georgia or Chechnya because of the US and Russia. It will never go to Asia because the Asian countries will block it. Under Moreno-Ocampo it will not open a file on Columbia because it wants the support of the Latin American countries for the Sudan case. Moreno-Ocampo will not try any more cases while he is Prosecutor and his successor will have to try a completely different approach if he is to rebuild the credibility of the ICC.