The Sudanese Minister should deal with their problem not going to other African countries soliciting for support. What the heck is wrong with some African people, i can't believe that these devastated, wretched country will still rally for support after what the President has put them through. People were murdered and yet they can't seem to stand on their own and say no to the murderer instead they embrace and encourage him to do more. There's no way a positive-thinking person will support the murderer, Al-bashir. Nigeria or any other sane country can and will never support Sudanese government. I fully support the ICC, he should be extracted, tried and jailed for the rest of his miserable life. Unless beasts (yes! he is a beast, a man that suffers his people, murder them and still have the gut to dance in a rally is a beast) like Al-bashir are eradicated from Africa, we will never progress, Africa will never develop.

http://africa-onecountryaweek.blogspot.com/

The acts of a guilty man The international spectacle that has arisen after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, is of little surprise. There had been a hype build-up in the media in the weeks leading to the courts decision, which set the stage for the current showdown. There was, arguably, bound to be strong reactions to whatever decision the court made, whether or not al-Bashir was indicted.

The facts of the matter are that great atrocities were committed against the people in Darfur and the atrocities were committed under the watch of President al-Bashir. With the overwhelming evidence, the deck was stacked against al-Bashir, hence, the indictment. It is important to note that al-Bashir is only accused of committing the crimes but has not been proven guilty.

Should recent progress in the region and the interest of peace have swayed the court to decide otherwise or delay its decision? It is clear that the decision of the court could not, and should not, be entirely divorced from the greater political picture; I believe the prosecutor and judge would agree. However, with the preponderance of the evidence against al-Bashir, the real question is not whether the court could have decided otherwise, but one of the appropriateness of the timing of making the decision public. I am in support of the court's action of indicting al-Bashir immediately after they came to the decision. If Bashir was not indicted now, would there ever be a right time? The human rights infringements and killings have happened and many are still suffering even today; these people deserve justice and peace now. The legal cliche, "justice delayed is justice denied," captures the essence of my assertion.

As for the president's response: defiance, jubilation and flexing of sovereignty muscles. President al-Bashir's reaction should not be very surprising. Considering his history, no one should have expected him to cower in shame and surrender. But firing aid organizations and confiscating their assets have only served to deepen the image of his reckless disregard for his own people. Though I am not a proponent of dependence of African countries on international aid, it is clear in this case that the government lacks the capacity or is unwilling to support the vulnerable populations, and these organizations play a vital role in alleviating suffering. There are already reports of meningitis in a southern Darfur camp, showing the first fruits of much predicted suffering to follow. An eloquent column in the NYTimes column by Nicholas Kristof calls for the international community to take action against al-Bashir and in support of these vulnerable people.

The ICC has sent a symbolic message that country leaders cannot act with impunity and should be held accountable. Though the means of enforcement of the warrant is not certain, the whole world has taken note of the message.

Moreover, the response of the African Union, AU, has been disheartening. Their request to suspend the charges may be one of the last straws that completely shatters my trust in the credibility if the AU. AU leaders have been aptly described as a society of rogue leaders trying to protect one another's interest and not their populace; they may be living up to that description. The AU needs some serious self-honesty. We need to start calling a spade a spade, and realize we cannot continue in self-deception only because we need to oppose the neo-imperialists. The AU continually denies, harsh but true, realities, and continually polishes its reputation of placating and dancing to the tunes of dictators and criminals. We can be authentic and independent from Western pressures but yet also self reflective and courageous enough to call our offending brothers into question.

A man convinced of his innocence would show up in court and present evidence refuting those of his accusers. What would a guilty coward do? Behave like al-Bashir.

EVERY NIGHT YOU BLOW TAPS OVER THE DEAD BODIES OF OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS, WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN A GOD FORSAKEN COUNTRY CALL SUDAN. FOR WHAT??? WHAT DID THEY DIE FOR???

TONY

We all know what the issue with many African leaders is. What goes around WILL come around in cases such as these. The ICC has done a great job on this. What is left is to see it through no matter what these killers who consider themselves... leaders.

I totally agree with all the comments stated above about the immorality of the defunct, toothless OAU, the corrupt leadership of the current AU and soon to be USA (a pipe dream concocted by a brain-dead thug - Gaddafi), call it whatever you want, a skunk is still a skunk. The AU’s politics and inaction in the face of human suffering is abhorrent and stinks to the high heavens. Its membership of corrupt, lazy and murderous African leadership is indefensible. Lest we forget, however, the UN is similarly an accomplice in all these inaction and neglect of African problems, in general. In 2005, AU members contributed troops but for their lack of funds, they sought UN and NATO’s help for airlifts and defensive gears and other logistics, none came while the poor AU peacekeeper were been sniped at. Even under the UN flag, 9 defenseless Nigerian “peace-keepers” were slaughtered in the hot sun because there was no UN mandate to defend themselves in the name of “keeping the peace.” Both UN and OUA remained silent when a popularly elected PM Patrice Lumumba was murdered by agents of "you know who" in favor of their stooge – Col. Mobutu. We can see the legacy of that betrayal of democractic principles today - 46 years of unending civil war that both the UN and AU are yet to resolve, while Zaire has turned into a “failed state.” Secondly, the genocide of Rwanda is still fresher in our minds. Guess who the UN Head of Peacekeeping operations was when Rwanda genocide occurred - an African named Kofi Annan, and his reward for looking the other way while his own people were killing each other - the UN Secretary Generalship - what a good boy. Thirdly, both the UN and the ICC huffed and puffed when it came to bringing Taylor to justice for his unimaginable atrocities on in Liberia by horribly cutting off the hands and legs of his perceived enemies - the global media reported, to justify his arrest. Even Nigeria was made to cough up $18 Billion owed to the Paris Club for not acting fast enough in its release of Taylor to ICC for his punishment. Today we heard that the ICC no longer has the fund to continue Taylor's prosecution. Now, that makes me mad. If ICC has no fund, then why add to the crisis in Darfur by escalating the same ICC’s empty rhetoric and in the process, turning Al-Bashir into a hero even among the Darfuris when he visited the region bringing food and promising shelter for the locals. Please stop this saber rattling, or should I say “lion’s roar” that at the end of the day turns into a “cat's meow” because it sends the wrong message to brutal dictators that if he can delay long enough, the world's cacophny will soon end and move on to a more pressing & urgent issues – world history is littered with dictators-for-life. Let us just continue to kill each other. Hitler and Stalin did worse; did they ever get the justice they deserved? Hell, no. The former killed himself while the latter died a natural death and who is left bearing the brunt – their people. At one point, during Gorbachev's democratic transformation, the Russian peasants moanfully wished for Stalin's come-back. Go figure.