Daily Darfur: Proud to be a Criminal of War

by Michelle

categories: Daily Darfur, Peace & Justice

Published March 16, 2009 @ 05:54AM PT

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir still seems to be operating under the (completely delusional) assumption that the government of Sudan will be able to fill the gaps left by the departing humanitarian agencies. At a meeting of Sudanese organizations, Bashir reiterated his claim that international NGOs were covertly colluding with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and implementing a "colonial agenda." Even more alarming, at a rally in Khartoum today, Bashir announced that no foreign aid organizations will be on the ground in Darfur in one year's time, adding, "If they want to bring in aid, they will have to leave it at the airport."

At this point, it's unclear if this was an idle threat used to incite the crowds at the rally, or an actual plan to remove all international aid agencies from Darfur within a year. Either way, Bashir seems to be embracing his new status as an indicted war criminal with gusto.

Millions on the Move, Good or Bad for Khartoum?

While Bashir continues his posturing, the UN and humanitarian aid groups in Chad and South Sudan are bracing for a massive influx of refugees, which one would think (I would think) would be a very bad thing for the regime in Khartoum.

But as Heba Aly writes in Christian Science Monitor, the government has always viewed the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps as rebel recruitment grounds, and is keen to see them break up. This seems a bit short-sighted, given the massive instability and regional chaos that will be created by massive population movements. (Particularly true of Chad, which is likely to receive the bulk of the new refugees.)

The kidnapping of three aid workers from Medecins San Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Aly notes, may have been far more than a business-as-usual act of banditry, but an intentional act meant to serve as a warning:

"‘This is the plan of Khartoum,' ...says Abdul Wahid al-Nour, the founder of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of several rebel factions in Darfur fighting the government over claims that their people have been marginalized. Mr. Nour says the government is trying to force nongovernmental organizations out - ‘either by expelling them directly or terrorizing them.'

The strategy, he argues, is to punish the people of Darfur, a semiarid land along Sudan's western border with Chad, where mostly non-Arab rebels have been fighting the Arab-dominated government since 2003. That punishment, he says, is either ‘directly' with attacks by Russian-made bomber planes and government-sponsored janjaweed militia - accused of some of the worst atrocities in Darfur - or ‘indirectly, by cutting off a lifeline to them, which is medication and food.'"

Indeed, a Western diplomat expressed doubts, in an interview with AFP, over Khartoum's intentions to actually distribute this aid to those in need.

Other items of note...

Still, Saudi Arabia and Egypt reiterated their support for Bashir over the weekend, and again called for suspension of the ICC arrest warrants.

Sudan is refusing to attend an international conference on Darfur, called by Egypt, because the US, France, and UK were invited as well.

Kevin at Opinio Juris points us to an article from the Institute for War & Peace Reporting on the possibility of internal cracks ... ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo is appealing the pre-trial panel's ruling on the genocide charge...

A journalist for Kenya's Daily Nation recounts covering Bashir in the hours and days after the announcement. An editorial in the same paper argues that to support Bashir is to share his guilt.

Finally, check out the Reuters photo slideshow on life in a Darfur IDP camp.