On March 4, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges related to war crimes. Bashir is specifically charged with 5 counts of crimes against humanity, relating to incidents that occurred in the Darfur region of Sudan since 2003. The arrest warrant has sparked a political uproar, threatened the fragile peace process and set the stage for even further devastation and death in the Sudan.
The ICC was created July 1, 2002, with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is adhered to by 108 countries. The United States is not a signer.
The ICC was ostensibly created as an all-encompassing court to try “crimes against humanity” and “genocide”. The European imperialists championed the court’s creation They were joined by those elements of civil society that support “humanitarian intervention,” in other words the use of imperialist or imperialist-supported forces to intervene in various countries under the guise of freedom, democracy or improving conditions.
Several other ad-hoc international court formations, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, preceded the creation of the ICC. These courts presuppose no real challenge to imperial power—their purpose is to isolate those who would resist imperialist dictates. For example, the ICTY purported to prosecute war criminals from the Yugoslav war. However, the ICTY never brought charges against American officials responsible for murderous sanctions on Yugoslavia. Similarly, the ICC has cases open on Uganda, Sudan and the Central African Republic, but has not deemed the Iraqi civilian deaths related to the American invasion and occupation worthy of prosecution.
The Bashir warrant is a major test of relevancy for the ICC. It is not known if the warrant will ever in fact be executed. Neither Sudan nor most of the countries it has strong relations with are signers of the Rome Statute. The African Union and Arab League have expressed opposition to the warrant. The United States has responded optimistically but carefully because of their lack of adherence to the Rome statute.
The ICC warrant against Bashir enjoys wide support amongst the imperialist powers in Europe and the United States. Because of a well-funded and deceptive propaganda campaign the support extends through large swaths of “civil society.” The supporters of the ICC warrant hope that this will help to delegitimize Bashir and bring down the Sudanese government, supposedly ending atrocities.
However, the ICC ruling does not enjoy such wide-ranging support amongst the Sudanese people—for whom it pretends to speak.
Ruling sets stage for more suffering
The ICC ruling is part of a larger imperialist campaign to undermine Sudanese self-determination and dominate the region. As such, it has set the table for more suffering for the Sudanese people.
President Bashir has expelled 13 aid organizations, imperiling those who rely on that aid. He struck a defiant tone March 9 at a rally, symbolically held in an area where the Dafur conflict began, Al-Fasher. Speaking before thousands Bashir said: “We will never hand over any Sudanese citizen. We will not kneel to them.”
The ruling has also increased the likelihood of renewed fighting in Darfur, with rebels in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) threatening attacks on Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Renewed fighting in Darfur not only portends deaths there, but could destabilize the whole country, threatening the fragile peace between groups in the northern and southern sections of the country.
A referendum set for 2010 will decide whether the southern portion of the country will secede. Bashir and the current Sudanese government have campaigned against this and for the unity of the country. The referendum is inline with the imperialist powers’ desire to break up the country, in order to better gain access to Sudan’s mineral resources like oil, uranium, and copper. The imperialist powers also seek to deny China access to the same, and improve the geo-strategic position of the imperialists.
Destabilization in the West (Darfur), and South, threatens to plunge the country once again into violent civil war. Some who support the ICC warrant may be well meaning, while some have sinister interests of overthrowing the Sudanese government. Regardless of their intentions, the fact of the matter is that the ICC indictment has set the stage to dramatically worsen the situation for the people of Sudan.
While the peace process in Sudan has not proceeded without incident, the attempts to impose a solution from without, based on Western sensibilities has only worsened the situation. It is very possible that the warrant pronouncement has sentenced the Sudanese people to a heightened tempo of war and destruction.
Progressive and revolutionary people should demand “Hands Off Sudan!” True peace is only possible if the self-determination of the Sudanese people is respected. The living conditions in Sudan are not improved by increased war and destruction—which are the only result of imperialist and imperialist-supported intervention.
