HENTOFF: Crimes of humanity in Darfur

COMMENTARY:

A hero of this young century, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, is coming closer to arresting the president of Sudan, Lt. Gen. Omar Bashir, and bringing him to be tried at The Hague for genocide, among other crimes against humanity in Darfur.

In July, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Gen. Bashir on three counts of genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The legal definition of genocide is the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethinic, racial or religious group.” The prosecutor accuses Gen. Bashir of a campaign to eliminate African Darfur tribes (Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa).

After the ICC asked for more supporting material to justify arrest warrants, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo submitted more than 700 pages of documented evidence, including witness statements. All of his previous requests for arrest warrants in other cases have been successful.

Adding to Gen. Bashir’s fears is the prospect of national elections next year - which have been demanded by foreign donor governments and supported by the United Nations and many in Sudan. The Economist reports

that the dictator and his henchmen “know that if even vaguely free and fair ballots were to take place throughout Sudan, they would lose heavily.” If Gen. Bashir is subject to actual arrest by the ICC, he would find it exceedingly hard to rig the elections.

In order to prevent attempts to take the dictator into custody by the ICC, there is a concerted, insistent attempt to get the United Nations to exercise its authority to defer any further action by the ICC. Ostensibly to assure “stability in the area,” this Praetorian Guard protecting Al-Bashir includes the Arab states, some members of the African Union - and of course China and Russia.

Meanwhile, Gen. Bashir is threatening that if the ICC does authorize his arrest, he will unleash his army and the Janjaweed to rid the country of humanitarian workers and turn Sudan into a bristling fortress to ensure his safety. Already, his “goons,” reports the Economist, have been bullying staff workers in humanitarian offices “to hand over sensitive documents and computer files which, they suspect, could have been used as evidence against Mr. Bashir.” If Gen. Bashir’s friends on the U.N. Security Council muster nine votes, that body will defer implementation of ICC arrest warrants. So far, they are only two votes short.

Enter President Bush. The first world leader to use the word “genocide” to describe Gen. Bashir’s ceaseless atrocities, Mr. Bush has pledged to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution that would prevent Gen. Bashir from being hauled off to be tried at The Hague.

Another member of the U.N. Security Council standing firm is France. That country (which is currently leading the European Union) has declared that Khartoum’s obligation to cooperate with the court “is not negotiable.”

During his campaign for the White House, President-elect Barack Obama pledged “unstinting resolve” to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and nail Gen. Bashir’s government as being responsible for the devastation. Before taking office our next president could also signal to Gen. Bashir that if the ICC does issue the arrest warrants, he, too, will, as president, veto any U.N. Security Council resolution to suspend the execution of the warrants. Significantly, Mr. Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has previously advocated naval blockades or even bombing Sudan.

Currently, Gen. Bashir’s thugs, to show his reaction if faced with arrest, have shut down a humanitarian project helping women of Darfur recover from his mass rapes. In retaliation, if a warrant is issued, says the Economist, many more of those rehabilitation projects will be abolished.

And if Gen. Bashir stays in power by rigging next year’s national election, what will the world do then if force is necessary to assure his removal to The Hague?

Nat Hentoff’s column for The Washington Times appears on Mondays.