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July 15, 2008

African Christian leaders warn on charges against Sudan president

by Fredrick Nzwili
Ecumenical News International

NAIROBI — The filing of genocide charges by the International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir may a trigger a violent backlash in the country, where violence has torn apart the country’s western Darfur region, say some African church leaders.

“Everybody is on the alert. Demonstrations have already started in Khartoum,” Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Menegazzo, the apostolic administrator of El Obied diocese, which includes Darfur, told Ecumenical News International on July 15.  “Do not forget politics in the Muslim world is always tied up with religion, even if religion has nothing to do in this case.”

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, on July 14 requested judges to issue arrest warrants for al-Bashir for war crimes, saying that forces and agents under his control had killed at least 35,000 civilians outright, and caused the “slow death” of 80,000 to 265,000 people, displaced from their homes by fighting.

The action marked the first charges to be issued by the ICC against a sitting head of state. The prosecutor is also seeking the seizure of al-Bashir’s property and the freezing of his assets.

Menegazzo said the action would be welcomed by the people of Darfur, and possibly also in southern Sudan, which was ravaged by a decades-long civil war that was stemmed by a 2006 peace agreement. People in other parts of Africa’s biggest country would, however reject the action, he said.

The Rev. Jude Waweru, coordinator of the Catholic Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, on behalf of the grouping of regional bishops, said he welcomed the action against al-Bashir.

“That is what should happen. It is good for Sudan in general. It is the right way to go in a country where people are oppressed,” Waweru said, describing the court’s action as “justice being done.”

The Rev. Fred Nyabera, the executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa, said he hoped the ICC had done sufficient investigation to ensure that the indictments would not jeopardize peace prospects in Sudan, especially in Darfur, and in a separate conflict in southern Sudan that was stemmed by a 2005 peace agreement.

“There needs to be an international instrument that will insure leaders act responsibly and protect their citizens. That instrument should be applied universally, not selectively,” he said. “I hope the ICC is not going for a soft landing by targeting mainly Africa leaders,” Nyabera added.

The International Criminal Court came into being in 2002 as an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  The ICC is based on a treaty, ratified by 106 countries. Among countries that are not signatories of the treaty are: China, Russia, Sudan and the United States.

The official seat of the ICC is in The Hague, Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere.

International court cases not under the ICC have been brought against other international leaders. Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader, became the first serving head of state to be indicted for war crimes. Liberia’s Charles Taylor was the next. Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge president is currently awaiting trial by a U.N.-backed court in Cambodia.