In an unprecedented move in targeting world leaders committing atrocities against their citizens, the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
President Bashir is wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the crisis-hot Darfur region of Sudan. Although he has completely denied the charges, Metro Éireann strongly believes that they must be vigorously pursued.
According to the UN, over 300,000 people have died and more than 2.7 million have been displaced in the Darfur region. Millions more have also been wounded in the conflict, which started in 2003 when black African rebels began fighting the Arab-dominated government over control of the region’s resources.
This is not the first time that President Bashir has reportedly been instrumental in the killing of innocent people in Sudan. Before he seized power in a coup in 1989, he was an army commander who led numerous operations against Sudanese rebels and activists in the south of the country.
On becoming president at the peak of the country’s civil war, Bashir went on to rule his people with an iron fist. By 2005, when the war finally ended, an estimated 1.5 million people had been killed – most of them during his 16 years in charge of the war. Unfortunately, President Bashir was never held accountable for those crimes.
In light of the new charges brought against him, Metro Éireann calls on both the Chinese government and those African leaders who have been strong backers of President Bashir not to frustrate the actions of the ICC. Indeed, they should facilitate his arrest and hand-over to the court for trial. Such decisive action would surely bright peace and stability not only in Sudan but across the continent.
editor@metroeireann.com
