The International Criminal Court in the Hague has issued a second arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, this time for three counts of genocide. The arrest order is added to the warrant issued in March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The New York Times report commented: "Even genocide - the gravest charge- may not bring the Sudanese leader closer to trial in The Hague any time soon. He has so far defied the court's orders and denied all accusations. But because genocide charges carry a heavy weight, they may further complicate his international dealings and travels." Bashir is shunned by several countries who recognize the court's jurisdiction - but the leaders of many Arab and some African countries continue to meet with him.
ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" for three counts of genocide: genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the ethnic groups. "Towns and villages inhabited by other tribes, as well as rebel locations, were bypassed," the order said, while the villages of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa were singled out for attack.
Bashir was easily re-elected president of Sudan in April 2000, although the voting was marred by boycotts and reports of intimidation and widespread fraud but the elections are also reported to have been fraudulent in addition to the use of coercion.
Dave Eggers and John Prendergast, writing in the International Herald Tribune, called for "a more robust package of carrots and sticks by the U.S. in Sudan. Bill Clinton often says his greatest regret as president is that he didn't do more to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. There were signs that trouble was brewing long before the killing started, but when it did begin, Mr. Clinton and the international community did not act decisively. This is President Obama's Rwanda moment, and it is unfolding now, in slow motion. It is not too late to prevent the coming war in Sudan, and protect the peace we helped build five short years ago."
See the GPN Original in this Issue: Darfur and Sudan: A Review and Analysis
Sources:
Eggers,Dave and Prendergast,John (July 14, 2010). In Sudan, war around the corner. International Herald Tribune.
Simons, Marlise (July 12, 2010). International Court adds genocide to charges against Sudan leader.
ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" for three counts of genocide: genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the ethnic groups. "Towns and villages inhabited by other tribes, as well as rebel locations, were bypassed," the order said, while the villages of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa were singled out for attack.
Bashir was easily re-elected president of Sudan in April 2000, although the voting was marred by boycotts and reports of intimidation and widespread fraud but the elections are also reported to have been fraudulent in addition to the use of coercion.
Dave Eggers and John Prendergast, writing in the International Herald Tribune, called for "a more robust package of carrots and sticks by the U.S. in Sudan. Bill Clinton often says his greatest regret as president is that he didn't do more to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. There were signs that trouble was brewing long before the killing started, but when it did begin, Mr. Clinton and the international community did not act decisively. This is President Obama's Rwanda moment, and it is unfolding now, in slow motion. It is not too late to prevent the coming war in Sudan, and protect the peace we helped build five short years ago."
See the GPN Original in this Issue: Darfur and Sudan: A Review and Analysis
Sources:
Eggers,Dave and Prendergast,John (July 14, 2010). In Sudan, war around the corner. International Herald Tribune.
Simons, Marlise (July 12, 2010). International Court adds genocide to charges against Sudan leader.
