Jul 21, 2008 Sudan: Darfur, Justice and Peace
"Part of the reason Darfur has remained locked in crisis for years
is that the international community has been slow to acknowledge
what has always been painfully obvious: The janjaweed militias that
have terrorized and decimated Darfur have been directed by the
Sudanese government. The militias were financed by the government,
and received direct battlefield support from the Sudanese military.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is doing no more than
acknowledging the plain, painful truth of Sudan's tragedy. The
prosecutor should be congratulated for recognizing that turning a
blind eye to war crimes is not helpful." - Enough Project
Jul 21, 2008 Sudan: Darfur, Justice vs. Peace
On July 14, 2008, the chief prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) asked the court to indict the president of
Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on charges of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur. "Will this
be a historic victory for human rights, a principled blow on behalf
of the victims of atrocity against the men who orchestrated
massacre and destruction? Or will it be a tragedy, a clash between
the needs for justice and for peace, which will send Sudan into a
vortex of [further] turmoil and bloodshed?" - Alex de Waal
May 30, 2008 Sudan: Abyei Aflame
"The town of Abyei has ceased to exist. Brigade 31 of the Sudanese
Armed Forces, or SAF, has displaced the entire civilian population
and burned Abyei's market and housing to the ground. These events
were predicted, and absent effective word and action, they became
inevitable. [but] as this report goes to the press, the United
States has not even made a public statement regarding the violence
Khartoum instigated in Abyei." - Roger Winter
