From: emmanuel (emmanuel@bayou.com)
Date: Fri Sep 05 2008 - 03:04:11 EDT
Sudan: Rumblings of dissent on Bashir indictment
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) - September 1, 2008.
Khartoum (Sudan) - Seven weeks after the prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court, ICC, asked judges to indict Sudanese president Omar
al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity, some domestic voices
are now being heard that replace the initial expressions of support with
calls for him to step down.
The first political leader to say so publicly was Ibrahim al-Shaikh, who
is head of the small Sudanese Congress Party. Speaking at his party
headquarters in Omdurman about how the country should deal with a
possible indictment, al-Shaikh said there was ample evidence of the
president’s involvement in crimes committed in Darfur.
“We cannot believe that the planes bombing civilians in Darfur can do
that without his permission and approval,” said al-Shaikh.
Since the United Nations Security Council, UNSC, referred Darfur to the
ICC in March 2005, al-Bashir’s government has strongly rejected the
court’s jurisdiction, claiming to have a capable and impartial justice
system able to prosecute crimes nationally. However, all the initiatives
set up by Khartoum – like the Special Criminal Court on the Events in
Darfur established one day after the ICC’s investigation was launched in
June 2005 – have been dismissed as insincere by justice experts and
human rights groups.
According to al-Shaikh, “It is clear to everyone that our judicial
system is not willing to or capable of trying those who committed
crimes, because of the lack of capacity of our lawyers and judges, which
results from their lack of independence.” He called on the president to
resign, adding, “If he thinks he is innocent, he should agree to stand
trial, because that is the only way to end the crisis facing the country.”
This is the first open call of its kind since the prosecutor’s
application for an arrest warrant against al-Bashir in mid-July, but it
reflects a broader trend towards public questioning of the official line.
In the days before the prosecutor’s announcement, al-Bashir’s ruling
National Congress Party, NCP, made every effort to show the world that
the whole country was behind its leader. Commentators outside Sudan were
taken aback as opposition parties scrambled to support al-Bashir and the
NCP, but few within the country were surprised. Al-Bashir came to power
in a military coup in 1989 and continues to control the army, police and
security services, giving him a lot of leverage against his opponents.
In the aftermath of the prosecutor’s announcement, state-run radio and
TV stations repeatedly broadcast messages of solidarity with the
president, and the government tightened its censorship of independent
newspapers. Editors were issued with new instructions which said that
“any report or article seeming to be, or suspected of being, supportive
of the ICC or the prosecutor will make the newspaper subject to
suspension and the confiscation of its property”.
Judges at the ICC are still reviewing the evidence submitted by the
prosecutors and have yet to issue an indictment for al-Bashir. A
decision on whether to do so is expected any day now. Prosecutors say
al-Bashir is responsible for ten counts of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity against the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit peoples of
Darfur. They say that over the last five years, the president has
masterminded crimes to destroy communities on ethnic grounds, ordering
the destruction of food stocks, shelter, and wells; and that he
conducted genocide through rape, hunger and fear as government troops
and allied “janjaweed” militiamen murdered, tortured, raped civilians
and forced them from their homes.
Just seven weeks on from the prosecutor’s request, the daily protest
marches against the ICC have stopped, and security restrictions on the
printed media seem to have softened. None is outwardly calling for the
president to stand down or face trial at the ICC, yet it is of some
significance that the authors of opinion pieces are daring to critique
the government and offer suggestions on how to solve the problem.
Abdelbagi Jabril from the Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
cautions that the current relaxation of the censorship over the ICC
issue is only relative, and may be more a reflection of erratic
policymaking than of real change.
“They may allow you to write a story one week, but only if it serves
their objectives. Censoring is a reality and journalists are not free.”
It is hard to assess the true level of political support for al-Bashir
from reading the censored press, but contacts in Khartoum say
Al-Shaikh’s Congress Party stands almost alone in openly calling for the
president’s resignation. The party is secular, liberal and progressive
in outlook, and was established in 1985 soon after the downfall of the
dictator Gaafar Numayri Nimeiri. It has opposed al-Bashir’s rule since
he seized power in 1989.
Only some small parties, like the Movement of New Democratic Forces, and
Hassan al-Turabi’s Popular Congress Party have publicly echoed his calls
for al-Bashir’s resignation.
Meanwhile, the main parties represented in the National Assembly
continue to support al-Bashir, outwardly at least.
* Reporting from Sudan was provided by local journalists, who have not
been identified out of concern for their security. The report was
compiled by Katy Glassborow, an IWPR international justice reporter in
The Hague.
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----