US activists campaign for Bush support to ICC Darfur case

March 2, 2007 — The International Campaign for Justice in Sudan is sending thousands of postcards to President George W. Bush urging him to actively support the International Criminal Court’s case on Darfur by immediately releasing US intelligence on the Sudanese government’s complicity in the Darfur genocide. Human rights groups estimate that 400,000 civilians have died and another 3.5 million have been displaced in Darfur.

The San Francisco-based campaign is distributing a new documentary film, Judgment on Genocide, highlighting the criminal responsibility of the Sudanese government in the ongoing genocide. The 16-minute film may be viewed online at www.judgmentongenocide.org.

On Tuesday, February 27th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague moved ahead with its case on Darfur when Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo presented evidence against Sudanese government officials. He warned, “Those who commit atrocities cannot do so with impunity.”

Ahmed Mohamed Haroun, a top advisor to Sudanese President Omar Hasan al-Bashir, is expected to be indicted later in March by the ICC for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Earlier, Harun bragged that “in his appointment to the Darfur security desk, he had been given all the power and authority to kill or forgive whoever in Darfur for the sake of peace and security.”

Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo alleges that Harun, along with militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), bear “criminal responsibility” in relation to 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Moreno-Ocampo said: “The vast majority of attacks in Darfur were carried out by the Militia/Janjaweed and the Armed Forces, and were directed at areas inhabited by mainly Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa tribes. The attackers did not target any rebel presence. Rather, they targeted civilian residents based on the rationale that they were supporters of the rebel forces.”

While President Bashir is not among the first Sudanese government officials to be indicted in the ICC case, many believe his days are numbered. Moreno-Ocampo said that charges will be filed against additional individuals who are most responsible for attacks on Darfuri civilians, and the evidence presented this week clearly implicates Bashir as the invisible hand guiding the genocide in Darfur.

Nikki Serapio, a Stanford student and leader of the grassroots campaign, said, “The role of ordinary citizens in this grassroots effort is to ensure that those who bear criminal responsibility for the Darfur genocide – especially President Bashir – are held accountable for their crimes. Our message is, ‘Don’t let them get away with genocide.’”

The International Campaign for Justice in Sudan is endorsed by many organizations working to end the Darfur genocide, including Americans against the Darfur Genocide, Darfur Alert Coalition, Physicians for Human Rights, Genocide Watch, My Sister’s Keeper, Stop Genocide Now!, Camp Darfur, Dear Sudan, San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, the International Campaign to End Genocide, and others.

The public is invited to join the International Campaign for Justice in Sudan by visiting the website to order postcards and view the new film at www.judgmentongenocide.org