Morning Brief: ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al Bashir

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The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is charged with orchestrating crimes against humanity in Darfur. It is the ICC's first warrant issued for a sitting head of state. The court plans to submit plans to Sudan for Bashir's surrender in the coming days. 300,000 have been killed in Darfur with millions more displaced, according to the U.N.

The warrant won't come as much of a surprise for Bashir who yesterday told the court they could "eat it." The president is certain to resist the charges and his top allies seem committed to sticking with him.

There are fears that the agreement could jeopardize ongoing talks between the government and Darfur rebels and even undo the fragile peace agreement between North and South Sudan. In an interview with the L.A. Times, Southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir called for calm but said that in the event of renewed violence, "I'm a soldier. I'm prepared."

The ICC's senior prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke about the case in a recent interview with FP.

Middle East

Hillary Clinton traveled to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority leaders.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei says Barack Obama is on the "wrong path" in the Middle East.

The U.S. is sending two senior diplomats to open negotiations with Syria this week. David Kenner comments on Passport.

Asia

Afghanistan's electoral commission ruled that presidential elections cannot be moved up to April, as President Hamid Karzai had wanted.

Sri Lanka's cricket team returned home from Pakistan after yesterday's deadly attack. Pakistan has already made arrests in the case.

China will boost its defense spending by 15 percent in 2009.

Europe

Obama denied making a quid pro quo offer to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over missile defense and Iran. Medvedev said he would be willing to discuss the two issues separately.

Ukrainian authorities raided the offices of the country's natural gas monopoly.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight of his top aides have been receiving mysterious death threats.

Americas

The New York Times' David Leonhardt crunches the data on how the recession is affecting different regions of the U.S.

Cuban-American New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez is holding up two key Obama appointments over a bill that would ease restrictions on Cuba.

Concerns are growing over newly elected GOP Chairman Michael Steele.

Africa

Guinea-Bissau's new president is asking for international help to stabilize his country after the assassination of his predecessor.

Jeffrey Gettleman reports on the new calm in rebel-free parts of Eastern Congo.

Correction: The original title of this post was "Wanted for genocide." The brief was posted before the actual list of charges was reported. Bashir was actually charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity but not genocide. Apologies for any confusion.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

VALERIAN

4:05 PM ET

March 4, 2009

Al-Bashir Arrest Warrant sends clear message to tyrants

The arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir sends a clear message to tyrants everywhere that, in this global village, atrocities will not go un-noticed and unpunished, sooner or later. It is a welcome message. Al-Bashir was indicted on three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity, and two of murder; damning charges that, by all reasoning, need be answered sooner or later if the Darfur matter is to be convincingly and conclusively resolved in the interest of justice. Which is why such nonchalant arrogant posturing - he has already told the ICC to “eat” the warrant - must not go unchallenged if the international community is serious about global human rights and ending the genocide in Darfur.

Before now, al-Bashir had treated every effort by the international community to ensure peace in war-torn Darfur, with indifference bordering on contempt. On his visit to Darfur, after his indictment, al-Bashir reportedly danced to the applause of a drafted crowd amidst tight security. It must have been a strange kind of dance indeed. Pray, how can anyone reasonably treat the humanitarian disaster in Darfur as a dancing matter? For a man facing possible arrest and conviction in a world court, it was a most inappropriate way to put on a brave face over so serious a matter.

But the General, who seized power in a 1989 military coup, has largely lived in a make-believe state of self-denial, refusing to admit that acts of genocide were being committed against the non-Arab ethnic groups by a combined force of the government-sponsored Janjaweed Arab militia and government soldiers. In the face of this, both the UN and AU Peacekeeping Forces have been helpless, and al-Bashir has continued to resist outside intervention.
What should be clear to the international community, including the US, is that Al-Bashir should have his day in court and an opportunity to defend himself. The Obama administration should lead the international community in multilateral diplomacy, well targeted pressures, and judicious incentives to get al-Bashir delivered to the court to face trial on the charges against him.

To ensure that any potential leadership change in Khartoum will actually produce meaningful movement toward peace on the ground, the international community must fashion a firm and coordinated peace strategy conditioned on revitalizing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, as part of a broader and more strategic peace effort for all of Sudan. The UN Security Council should also insist that Sudan hands over former Sudanese Minister of State for Interior Ahmad Harun, and the Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in April 2007. To date, despite arrest warrants, al-Bashir has refused to hand them over on the grounds that the ICC has no jurisdiction to try Sudanese citizens.

The Obama administration should use its muzzle at the Security Council to veto any Article 16 proposal by Russia and China and other African Union (AU) members who give the impression that al-Bashir's indictment amounted to a conviction. Libya and South Africa in collaboration with Russia and China moved, under the provision of Article 16 of the ICC statute, that the Security Council defers the case against al-Bashir for a year so as not to “jeopardize” on-going peacemaking efforts.

This argument is self-serving. Fact is: after more than six years, a lot of time has already been wasted in bringing justice to Darfur, and the international community can't wait any longer. Besides, justice and peace in Darfur are not mutually exclusive - the people of Darfur can have both. Above all, Article 16 could mean that the case against al-Bashir is relegated to the back burner indefinitely. Depending on the scope of the Article 16 request, cases are not only subject to a deferral for one year, but any deferral can be renewed annually.

Furthermore, under Article 27 of the Rome Statute, immunity does not avail a sovereign. Sudan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. But his case was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council. So, to the extent that Sudan is a member of the United Nations, it is bound in this instance, more so as it has no bilateral immunity agreements with other UN members.

In a continent of many bad leaders and few good ones, an international arrest warrant for al-Bashir sends a signal that not a few of his colleagues may have cause to worry about. Whatever their arguments, the signal is clear to all oppressors of their peoples that the long arm of justice reaches everywhere, in due time.

Foreign Policy Magazine

Morning Brief: Wanted for war crimes

Posted By Joshua Keating Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - 8:01 AM Share

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