<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile Ñ Arrest warrant for Bashir endangers those trying to aid the victims in Darfour hell

Arrest warrant for Bashir endangers those trying to aid the victims in Darfour hell

Friday, March 6, 2009   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

UNITED NATIONS Ñ There was an almost giddy enthusiasm when many human rights activists heard the news that an arrest warrant had been issued for SudanÕs leader Omar al-Bashir for his role in war crimes in the ongoing Darfur crisis. Across the world in SudanÕs capital Khartoum the mood was predictably defiant, bitter, and self-righteous, going so far as to stage support rallies where General Bashir in full military regalia buzzed around the city. And at the UN, mixed emotions swirled, not because of any serious support for SudanÕs strongman, but what the consequence of such actions may be for a network of humanitarian agencies and fragile peacekeeping operations inside the vast African country.

The warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague sets precedent as the first time a ruling head of state as been indicted and now furthermore slapped with an arrest warrant. Given Omar a-BashirÕs sanguinary record ruling Sudan, the charges are overdue, expected, and most deserving. LetÕs face it, calling President Al-Bashir a war criminal seriously sugar coats his credentials and the ICCÕs moves are richly justified as would and should be charges against Comrade Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the Burmese military junta to name a few. For example, the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and Liberian leader Charles Taylor were taken to the Hague for trial only when they were out of power.

But now we see the law of unintended consequences as the ICC actions against Bashir can and will imperil a fragile UN humanitarian assistance in the Darfur region, possibly effectively affect regime cooperation with the UN over the snail-pace deployment in UN hybrid peacekeepers in Darfur, and imperil a shaky settlement of the long-running civil conflict in south Sudan which has killed more than a million people.

Already BashirÕs military have booted out aid 13 humanitarian agencies such as the French Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), CARE and Oxfam who aid millions of destitute civilians. Should aid agencies be totally evicted from Sudan, the humanitarian situation will quickly deteriorate from bad to worse. Equally UN staff in Sudan serving in civil, military and aid capacities could be targeted as scapegoats by pro-Bashir thugs.

Consequently UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was very cautious in his comments regarding the arrest warrant; he was very clear in condemning the action which could Òcause irrevocable damage to humanitarian operations thereÓ. A UN statement added, ÒThe operations of these agencies are key to maintaining a lifeline to 4.7million Sudanese people who receive aid in Darfur.Ó

Since the inter-Islamic Darfur violence started in 2003 between BashirÕs paramilitary Arab-Jangaweed militia and black African nomads, more than 300,000 people have died and nearly three million people have been displaced by the regimeÕs scorched earth policies.

The ICC statement reads, Al-Bashir is suspected of being criminally responsible, Òfor intentionally directing attacks against and important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of the civilians and pillaging their propertyÓ Translation; war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Importantly while the ICC calls for the cooperation of states to aid Òa request for cooperation for the arrest and surrender of Omar Al-BashirÓ this may be easier said than done. Western powers, especially the British, French, clearly support this major step forward for the ICCÕs judicial powers. While Washington supports bringing Bashir to justice, the United States is not a member of the ICC. Conversely many African states do not see the ICC prosecution path as the way to proceed. Equally SudanÕs supporters on the UN Security Council, among them the PeopleÕs Republic of China, Russia, and Libya will play defense for Bashir.

Mainland China has major commercial relationships with Sudan including oil contracts, Russia remains a weapons supplier, and so many other regimes round the world share a quiet political affinity. Predictably Libya (a non permanent member of the Council) who sits as the Council president for March, has tried to defer action. LibyaÕs delegate asserted, ÒWe hope the situation will not deteriorate in Sudan.Ó

The African Union, the League of Arab States, and probably the G77 developing countries of which Sudan is the chairman, will go to bat for Bashir, and ensure that in the short term the Sudanese ruler will be free to rule from his dusty but petro-dollar glitz capital Khartoum. General Bashir may still be safe to visit to Beijing, Benghazi or Bujumbura, but will have to pass on Paris, Brussels, and Berlin.

Though Bashir has lashed out at the ICC warrants as Ònew colonialismÓ, the long-ruling Sudanese leader hopefully has an early date with justice in the Hague. Yet this is hardly the end of the process, but the beginning of a new very delicate and especially dangerous phase.

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