Darfur victims also had enough of you AU Chairman Ping
By Wasil Ali*
March 9, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – If anyone has any doubt in their minds about the negative and biased role played by the African Union (AU) in the Darfur crisis, they should look at the statements made by AU commission chairman Jean Ping in the Sudanese capital today.
“It is clear that the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) undermined and jeopardized the problem of … reconciliation in Darfur…. enough with these people”.
Ping was clearly upset with the ICC arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir; surely more so than the decision by the embattled president to expel over a dozen aid groups from Darfur putting lives of millions of civilians at risk.
As was to be expected from the AU chairman, the issue of the ejected aid organizations was not serious to the point where he would condemn this move or explicitly call on Khartoum to reverse its decision.
There are two reasons for this. First Ping rushed to Khartoum primarily in order to show his support to Bashir irrespective of the gravity of charges brought by the ICC against him. It is simply a continuation of a long standing non-written rule at the Pan-African body to support rulers even if it had to be the expense of the ordinary citizens or victims.
Second the AU commission chairman took the opportunity to bash at the ICC, as it has been his habit over the last few months, accusing it of being a “Western” body enforcing “Western” principles of prosecuting individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Ping was essentially saying that the ICC is “anti-African”.
In his statement Ping made his endlessly repeated and meaningless cliché about the AU being against impunity and human right violations in Darfur. However nowhere does Ping mention any practical steps taken in this regard since the conflict broke out in 2003.
Yet the Gabonese diplomat speaks about a “High Level Panel led by former [South Africa] President Thabo Mbeki to investigate how best to develop a whole package that includes, justice, truth, healing and reconciliation, as stated in the UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005)”.
Interestingly enough Ping has been promising this panel since August 2008 and reportedly did not see the light till this very day because of objections raised by Khartoum about its mandate. Furthermore even after Mbeki was chosen to lead the panel his visit to Sudan kept getting delayed for unknown reasons.
Clearly in light of the ambiguity of the panel’s mandate coupled with Ping non-stop statements blasting the ICC as well as the AU silence on the issue of Darfur war crimes all these years leads to one conclusion; the AU is seeking ways on how to let Bashir and other Darfur war crimes suspects off the hook.
It is becoming more evident Ping is unconsciously damaging his moral standing as well as the organization he is representing by saying that the ICC is targeting Africans. It is an argument he repeatedly made without noting that those suspects the court is after are accused of committing gross human right abuses against African citizens not Westerners. On top of that Uganda, Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) referred their cases to the ICC. There are also several African States such as Kenya which is mulling asking for ICC intervention or in the case of Ivory Coast asked for it but the prosecutor has decided not to open an investigation. But these hard facts mean nothing to Ping as he seeks to simply to side with those who can get him re-elected.
The Darfur case in itself demonstrates how Africans played the major role in bringing that case to the ICC and make it see the light as shown below.
– UN Security Council Resolution 1564 which established an international commission of inquiry gained the blessing of two African countries sitting on the council at the time, Angola and Benin while Algeria abstained.
– The five member International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur consisted of predominantly African figures which included Mohammed Fayek, from Egypt, Dumisa Ntsebeza, from South Africa and Theresa Striggner-Scott, from Ghana. They were the ones recommending that the case be referred to the ICC.
– UN Security Council Resolution 1593 which referred the Darfur case to the ICC was approved by Tanzania and Benin while Algeria abstained.
– There are three notable African figures who handled the Darfur case at the ICC. Deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda from Gambia, Judge Akua Kuenyehia from Ghana and senior Trial lawyer Essa Faal from Sierra Leone.
Yet despite the overwhelming proof of Africans leading the ICC Ping chose to speak of the court in a demeaning and disrespectful manner, holding its lawyers, judges and staff in contempt.
It is also worth comparing Ping’s statements with that of the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa who met with Bashir and emphasized the importance of handling the justice issue without discounting the court or making any accusations against it. The discrepancy in position is very ironic given the fact that the Sudanese government considers itself far more Arab than African.
We must also remember that it was Ping who signed off on a report to the UN Security Council (UNSC) last September showing among other things Sudan’s efforts in “combating impunity” which he said “demonstrates its commitment…to achieve lasting peace and security in Darfur”.
But examining the impunity portion of the report Ping forwarded to the UNSC it outlines seven cases related to carjacking, robbery, mischief and torture of few individuals with a promise to keep investigating. The AU commission chairman must somehow be convinced that these seven cases caused the displacement of 2.5 million Darfuris in three countries and the death of 300,000 more. And he wants to sell this to the UNSC so they can suspend Bashir’s indictment and is upset that they did not buy it.
There is also one major question Ping should answer. Would he support deferring prosecutions of the three rebel commanders who led attack that killed African troops from Mali, Botswana and Senegal? After all it can also be argued that this move would anger the rebels and jeopardize peace efforts. Would Ping approve of that?
Ping’s situation should not be separated from am impotent AU which has recently picked the Libyan leader Mu’ammar Ghaddafi to lead them. One of the first statements Ghaddafi made after being elected was defending the Somali pirates who terrorized ships in the Red Sea saying that they are trying to “make a living” and “feed their children”. As such, little meaningful action or positions can be expected from the AU or officials like Ping.
Therefore it is of no surprise that Darfuri displaced and refugees hold an extremely unfavorable view of the AU and African governments in general. Africans solving their own problems is a myth refuted by the reality. The AU has far more failures than successes in resolving conflicts plaguing the continent. There is little hope that this will change anytime soon because of African leaders’ mentality.
One video aired by Reuters last year asked African people on the street if they support Bashir going to the ICC. It was refreshing to see that the overwhelming majority supported it. This is the kind of spirit that Africa needs. One that values human rights much more than outdated African nationalistic rhetoric that has done more harm than good making the continent one of the most backward on the face of the earth.
The best recent example of the spirit Africa needs is the Nigerian Nobel Literature Prize Winner, writer Wole Soyinka who made statements from United Arab Emirates (UAE) today saying “Who is Omer Al-Bashir compared to women who were raped and elders who were exterminated”.
“I will not listen to anyone defending Bashir unless one of the fathers whose women were raped comes and family displaced comes forward saying I do not want Bashir indicted” Soyinka said.
Ping must understand one thing. It is not the ICC which created the Darfur conflict and the humantrian tragedy but rather the climate of impunity for those figures behind it since they felt the comfort of not being held to account and that they can continue fueling the war in Darfur without fear whether on the government side or the rebels.
* The author is a Sudan Tribune journalist, can be reached at [email protected]