Cheering in Darfur

Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008 5:28 PM by Daily Nightly Editor

By Ann Curry

Word of genocide charges against the President of Sudan is now reaching the displaced persons camps in Sudan's Darfur region.

And we are told people are cheering.

What must is be like for those long suffering, who've seen their homes attacked, their women raped and their loved ones killed, to now learn today, after 5 years of hunger and homelessness, an arrest warrant may be issued against the man they feel is to blame?

President Omar al-Bashir had 10 counts filed against him by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court this morning..3 of genocide, 5 of crimes against humanity and 2 of murder, on behalf of an estimated 2.5 million victims.

The court documents accuse President Bashir:

of masterminding systematic attacks in Darfur, causing "murder, extermination, forceable transfer of the population, torture and rape."
of being responsible, according to the filing, for killing and otherwise harming black African tribes of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, "to bring about their physical destruction in part."
of waging a coverup, in part by supressing media coverage, and in statements to NBC News in an interview released last year. President Bashir said evidence villages were burned in Darfur were, "fabrications," and said, "It is not in the Sudanese culture or the people of Darfur to rape. It doesn't exist. We don't have it." (See link.)

Bashir is also accused of slowing down humanitarian assistance to the victims.

Prosecutor Ocampo told NBC News, "They [the perpetrators of genocide] don't need gas chambers because they have the desert. Without food and water people die."

President Bashir denies all charges and through a spokesman says even if he is indicted when the court rules in September, he will not answer the charges because Sudan does not recognize the court.

Ironically, some humanitarian groups worry today's filing will make it more difficult to get aid into Darfur.

And there is already a backlash by countries that support Sudan, some arguing that the court's prosecutor is out on a limb with a flimsy case and in doing so, may be undermining the very future of the International Criminal Court itself. Some accuse the prosecutor of being politically motivated in filing now, just weeks before the start of the Olympics on China, a nation with close economic ties to Sudan.

But in this storm of controversy, Prosecutor Ocampo remains immovable. "The victims of Darfur deserve justice," he says. "At least we must recognize the truth for these people."

A leading voice on Darfur, John Prendergast, co-chair of the ENOUGH Project reacted this way: "The status quo in Sudan is one of the deadliest in the world. Until there is a consequence for the commission of genocide, it will continue. This indictment introduces a cost, finally, into the equation. Bashir will use the indictment as a cover to increase his deadly destruction in Darfur. The world must stand firm against his actions, and work towards peace in all of Sudan."

Now the people in Darfur's camps wait to see what the world will stand for and against.

Click here to see more on AnnCurry.msnbc.com. Click to read more of Ann's blogs on Darfur.

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Comments

this is a note I just wrote to the editor of the New Yorker reflecting on Obama cover: "my question to you is WHY would you ridicule and subject Mr. Obama and his family to such incendiary material on the cover of your magazine? Your position is clear: extreme and anti American using fear and inflamatory material to perpetuate myth. Cruel humor backfires and it certainly reflects the mindless nature of your cover this week. What a horrendous method to get people to buy your magazine! Reflect on this: individual freedom comes with responsibility even your cartoon humor. WHY would you imply point blank that the American people should question the integrity of Mr Obama's character? Revisit WWII propaganda cartooning used to create hate and fear. What you have displayed on your cover this week is not much better then that."

A very Concerned American Citizen and US History Teacher
Donna Fairfield

M Donna Fairfield, Mansfield Center CTR, CT (Sent Monday, July 14, 2008 7:12 PM)

Anne the problem with Darfur is the diamonds and oil that countries are profiting from. If Darfur didn't have something rich countries wanted the Sudan President would have been arrested a long time ago. I have read and watch the horror happening while nothing is being done. Just think the US invaded Iraq for oil and doesn't little to nothing about Darfur why? It's all about greed and profit. So many stories of US Law Makers and Lobbyist dealing with Darfur and even the White House. I was so glad the United Nations stepped in to do the right thing. We see today that humans aren't as important as the Powerful Businesses and the greedy World Leaders.

I hope the United Nations brings other World Leaders who have committed War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity to trial. One country comes to mine!

Jackie Rawlings Riverside California (Sent Monday, July 14, 2008 10:29 PM)

Darfur is and has been a tragic example of how when allowed to go unchecked, death, destruction, and genocide can flourish. I believe that ALL governments should take action against this, and feel that China should step up to the plate.

Derek H. Muyskens, Newhall, CA. (Sent Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:16 AM)

Dear Ann: The President of Sudan may think he is immune to punishment, but someday justice will prevail; and he will get what he deserves; and I am glad the people in Darfur are cheering.

ge`pa` (Sent Tuesday, July 15, 2008 9:40 AM)

The charges themselves are all well and good and long overdue. I salute Prosecutor Ocampo for his relentless work in bringing these monsters to justice. But it is the enforcement of the arrests, not the administration of charges that will determine whether or not we actually have a global justice system or not.

For a nation 'Under God' The USA has not lived up to it's moral obligation under our present weak and selfish leadership, who doesn't use our military might for causes that do not target a specific petroleum advantage to us.

We all know that, however humiliating and embarrassing it may be, we in the USA will turn a blind eye to another ethnic cleansing because we place less value on ethnic life. We have proven this to the world over and over since the dawn of our short 200+ year history. We do it and have done it at home let alone in the third world. Only we deny it in our P.R. campaign to ourselves.

So for the USA to lend any lip service without the required military might to enforce those arrests will and should be viewed by the world as disingenuous at best.

In the meantime the slow pace of international justice places the 2,500,000 cheering captives in the most life threatening situation possible.

In America, like any properly functioning government, when charges are filed there are immediate actions taken for immediate arrests. The criminal is not allowed to render an opinion about recognizing the validity or the jurisdiction of the court. Hussain tried that to no avail; rightfully so.

We must nevertheless lead to establish a coalition of forces, proportionate to it's percentile in world population, from EVERY nation that recognizes the International Criminal Court to enforce all three cases at once.

That means President Bashir and his entire support system should face immediate arrest.

We should, as a planet, act before Bashir murders the rest of the potential witnesses.

But alas, we will not. Primarily because we as a nation do not care. If we did we would... DO SOMETHING.

Leon Rodriguez (Sent Tuesday, July 15, 2008 12:12 PM)

This is an important step forward for Sudan; thank you for bringing it to the attention of blog readers. But I implore you to do something more for the people of Sundan. Next month, when NBC is providing hundreds of hours of air time to the Olympic Games in China, devote some time to Darfur. Many people will likely tune in to the Games who are not aware of the genocide (still) going on right now. Please use this opportunity to report on our modern day Holocaust.

Sarah Silverman, Columbus, OH (Sent Wednesday, July 16, 2008 3:53 PM)

During the coming weeks, NBC will broadcast more than 1,000 hours of Olympics coverage on its various stations, beaming the Games into the homes of billions of people worldwide. Yet, from January 2003 through June 2008, NBC dedicated less than seven hours in total to coverage of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The contrast is striking.

To NBC, which hopes to sell $1.1 billion in advertising during the Olympics, the Games represent an opportunity to bring in a huge amount of revenue. For China, a first-time host of the Olympics, the Games are an occasion to show the world that it is an international player. But there is more to this story: while paying lip service to Olympic ideals of peace and brotherhood, China is underwriting genocide in Darfur.

As both a leading news provider and broadcaster of the Games, NBC has a duty to balance its promotion of the Beijing Games and its own financial interests with in-depth coverage of China's role in Sudan.

Kimberly P, New Orleans, LA (Sent Wednesday, July 16, 2008 5:29 PM)

Darfur must receive more coverage and that means during Olympic coverage. People who might not otherwise know will be informed and possibly care. The light of day must be shined on China's evil. Their people are probably as unaware as many of ours. NBC has a duty and moral obligation to do this. They need only ask themselves what is the right thing to do. All other considerations are of no consequence when people are being murdered, raped and exterminated.

miriam giskin, north haven, ct. (Sent Thursday, July 17, 2008 8:55 AM)

Tonight I watched NBC News on TV. I have a question: On the segment with film of Obama in Afganistan, were the units brought in to be there for this video piece salted with black male and female soldiers? Are there military units largely made up of black troops that were brought into the area for this video? Or did the camera man select shots that showed mostly black troops? Or was the video cut to only show black troops? Because I can tell you, the racial makeup of the troops shown in this video were not representative of the racial makeup of troops deployed in Afganistan. Was someone afraid that if they brought in a representative sampling of troops in Afganistan that there would be too many white troops? Did someone think the white troops might not cheer for Obama, as the black troops did? What is this about? The fix, folks, was in.

Joe (Sent Saturday, July 19, 2008 8:10 PM)

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