The Beginning of Justice in Darfur

I have been active in pursuing the end of the genocide in Darfur with Amnesty International since I started here at GMU, so this for the first time is giving me hope. The ICC announced the other day that the prosecutor in charge- Luis Moreno-Ocampo has issued an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan- Omar Hassan al-Bashir. For the first time ever, the prosecutor at the ICC is charging someone on genocide charges. They are charging the president on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Getting this far was a long and arduous process but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Getting the president in custody is going to be even tougher, he’s a cruel and corrupt leader so I’m sure he has plans up his sleeve to escape or something. One positive note is that the government of Sudan did say that they will not retaliate against the peacekeepers and aid workers currently in Sudan.

The people of Sudan, most vocally the JEM- Justice and Equality Movement are determined to remove the president from power, and will not stop to make “negotiations” with the war criminal. I think these people need all the help they can get and that just like in Serbia, the US needs to either covertly or overtly step in to help the people revolt against the tyrant. According to the article, some people feel that the move will undermine efforts for peace talks and for providing aid, but I agree with the majority who feel that this puts added pressure on the president to end the slaughter. I hope the U.S. will eventually set aside its pride and support the ICC in this endeavor, people are people regardless of location and therefore deserve the same rights and support as everyone else. The article is located here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/world/africa/15sudan.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin . I would love to know how everyone else feels about this and what the current sentiment is about the US not intervening in the genocide.