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ARREST BASHIR FOR
WAR CRIMES
Bashir says- eat your warrant
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text of the arrest warrant of the ICC-see 8pp. total
www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc639078.pdf
signed by judges Akua Kuenyehia,Anita Usacka,Steiner Sylvia
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How to implement the ICC arrest warrant against Bashir is a matter of concern for the ICC, for the governments only can do so, and the two groups of peace keeping forces now stationed in Sudan donot have the mandate to arrest him.In the long run, he could be arrested in his foreign trip if he ventures or, easily caught hold of in the same way as Eichman had been captured by MOSSAD.Politically, powers like China and Russia donot favour his arrest.However, Milosevic and Charles Taylor- both head of the states, could be easily arrested if the world community has the real will to honour the ICC.The recent Arab League proposal to make a request for Security Council's deferral for one year is merely academic. People are made to beleve that ICC decision is good ,but impossible to implement.In the case of Milosevic and Taylor, the misnomer was demolished.
On 4th March,09, the PTC- pre trial chamber of the ICC- the International Criminal Court- has issued arrest warrant of sitting Sudanese president 65- year old Omar Hassan al- Bashir, who wrested power by a military coup before 19 years and has massacred 3 lakh ethnic Sudanese minorities not belonging to his ethnicity from western Darfur region since 2003 and has dsiplaced 40 lakh Sudanese.
In a massive rally at Khratoum on Thursday, 5th March,he lashed out against the ICC and proclaimed : " Sudan is raising its voice.It rejects the hegemony , the colonialists."After committing genocide and all the crimes one can imagine, questions may be raised if the genicide-saint is going to be crucified by the ICC.
Another western- sponsored military coup may be speculated to be in the offing if the monster- like president does not stop genocide, expel western aid- agencies that fed millions of children and render international justice defunct in the name of Arab nationalism or far-fetched western colonialism. Out of suspicion , he had driven out western aid agencies that fed Sudanese.He would allow them to starve in a highly polarised society.
President Bashir's allegation that the ICC is a western colonial tool could have naturally ,some buyers; but the three PTC judges happen to be from Ghana,Latvia and Brazil - none from the west, who cares a hoot for the USA that refused to sign the ICC treaty.USA and Bashir share commonality in disowning the ICC,yet the USA does not object to the referal to the Security Council of Sudanese genocide and war crimes .USA has changed guard recently.
USA is the best opponent of the ICC and if some one says that ICC is US tool, it would take years to convince a third world person.Besides, China and Russia which could not extricate justice from politics at present ,had been in the Security Council that espoused ICC jurisdiction over Sudan - a non- party to the ICC. Obama has concern for the ICC unlike his immediate predecessor. That Sudan is not a party to the ICC statute does not disempower the Security Council to make referral to ICC- be it any country whatever.
That China wants a political solution to skip the arrest warrant in order to avoid deep insecurity within, with Russian political support as on to-day, could have been an honest move- let alone the oil and weapons,but the ICC matter is about international justicing, not of international politics. China and India like the USA have to join the ICC.
President Bashir has been acknowledged as the one who committed war crimes a la the great Fuhrer, andcrime against humanity. The PTC of the ICC found strong evidence of his role in 7 seven out of 10 counts.Now,the ICC- PTC does not issue arrest warrant for him on grounds of commission of genocide, but on grounds of war crimes and crime against humanity.
In fact, like any third world despot, he had committed genocide.However, out of three ICC judges, two favoured genocide charge and hence, at this stage genocide charge has not been listed.That Mr. president is at the top slot for genocide is undisputed the world over barring his ethnically polarised supporters and genocide -accomplices.
Chances are that the UN Security Counci might have a stand off with the present Sudanese army at a stage, in the event of absence of a second coup after 19 years of the first coup of Bashir. Arab union, African Union might be aroused to defend the genocide hero- reason, they themselves are Bashir clones; in that event ICC may face a minor , temporaray set back.
In the worse case scenario, if ICC fails to click international justice, another tribunal like the Cambodian tribunal could also be set up with Arab support or , even otherwise and Bashir might not escape international justice forever.The UN can set up ICTY -model tribunal also, but it is costly and duplicative.
It is made out to be intra-muslim affair outwardly; but the issue is about international justice that transcends all the frivolous and uncalled for national or subnational arguments.Bashir is in wait for international justice.
Bashir is choosing two cards close to his heart - one Arab card to further polarize Sudanese society and to retain power and wealth with his ethnic group only like any thrid world or South Asian leader of all pretensions; secondly, the pan- African card like any obsolescent pannist that may not deliver goods to him- reason, African states are in the forefront of setting up the ICC unlike the USA, which is blamed for sitting on the wrong side of history as of now. That the USA could never become good even after change of guard is old school master's belief.Bashir could not always succeed in encashing a misplaced, anti- American card in order to justify his genocide and oppression of the western Darfur.
Apart from the ICC prerogative, Nobel laureate Tutu- an African in his own right, has said that you have to be on one of the two sides- the victim or, the oppressor.History had denied you to carry both parties to your side.Tutu might have been right,yet Bashir cannot escape justice.OTP chief Ocamapo had been criticized for prosecuting a mass murderer; Ocampo thinks about going outside Africa- Cambodia, Georgia and Afghanistan.Anti- African stigma cannot stig to ICC prosecutor.
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