Was The ICC Created For Africans? Part One

The International Criminal Court from its very beginning has taken a great delight in prosecuting only Africans. I will be serializing an article on the African indictees. In all there are about twenty-five Africans who have been indicted by the ICC.These is courtesy of the New African Magazine, May 2012 edition.

President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.

He was indicted on March 4,  2009 on five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes with regard to the situation in Darfur, Sudan. On July 12, 2010, he was additionally charged with three counts of genocide. He is accused of intending to partially destroy the Fur, Masalit, and the Zaghawa ethnic groups by killings, "causing serious bodily or mental harm," and "deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction".

Bahr Abu Garda of Sudan.

Indicted on May 7, 2009  on three counts of war crimes also with regard to the situation in Darfur, Sudan. He was accused of being criminally responsible for murder, pillaging, and "intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission". On February 8, 2010 Pr-trial Chamber 1 ruled that the charges against him would not be confirmed and all charges against him were dropped.

Abdallah Banda of Sudan

On August 27, 2009, he was indicted on three counts of war crimes. He faces similar charges to Garda. Banda voluntarily appeared before the Court on June 17, 2010 and the case against him is currently in the pre-trial stage.

Jean-Pierre Bemba of DR Congo

Jean Pierre Bemba was indicted on May 23, 2008 on two counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes with regard to the situation in the Central African Republic. On June 10, 2008, the arrest warrant was replaced with an amended version that charged him with three counts of crimes against humanity and five counts of war crimes. He is alleged to have led the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a Congolese rebel movement, into the Central African Republic when his assistance was sought by CAR president Ange-Felix Patasse to fight off a rebellion led by Francoise Bozize. Bemba was accused of allowing his soldiers to rape, torture, murder and inhumanely treat civilians. He was arrested in Belgium on May 24, 2008 and transferred to the Court on July 3, 2008. His trial began in November 22, 2010 and is ongoing.

To be continued.............

Laurent Gbagbo's Trial at the ICC?

My heart weeps so much for my African brother, the former Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo who was sent to the ICC in the Hague. Four charges of crimes against humanity have been proffered against him. We all know that this is just a formality he is going through. They would surely find him guilty as the trial of the former Liberian president Charles Gankey Taylor seems to show the hall marks of a predetermined agenda. These people would make sure that Gbagbo is kept away from Ivory Coast for a long time. I keep on asking this question, was the ICC created for only African Leaders? Why cant the likes of Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, George Bush Snr and Jnr, Gordon Brown and a host of other former western leaders who have committed atrocities in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq,  and Libya. Imagine you have a system where the leaders are the judge, jury and prosecutors. The conclusion would be that, the guilty verdict would surely be pronounced on any African president sent to the Hague. Why cant the African Union do something about this invasion of our African continent by these neocolonialists. Now they are threatening us with aid with so many conditions, some of which are that, we should allow homosexuals and lesbians to have their way all in the name of human rights. This is an insult to the African culture. Are these western powers signatories to the ICC Convention? I hope to find out the number of countries that have signed up to this incongruous convention. Sudan's president, Al Bashir is their next target, as to when they would get him to be sent to the ICC, only time will tell. Right now, the ICC has put an international arrest warrant on him. This has brought a big diplomatic row between Sudan and Kenya as they have both expelled their diplomats as a result of a Kenyan court ruling that states that the Sudanese president should be arrested the moment he steps foot on Kenyan soil. Why cant Africans be allowed to decide their own fate and settle their own disputes. Alhassane Outtara's forces also committed  atrocities during the Ivorian crisis, he should also be invited to the ICC to face charges of crimes against humanity. His forces embarked on an ethnic cleansing campaign, and the evidence is so overwhelming, but the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo's visit to Ivory Coast was a one sided affair. Gbagbo could have been tried by the African Union's own Judicial body. I would like to end with this question, who is going to pay for the cost involved in Laurent Gbagbo's ICC trial. I know the Ivorian people would be made to compromise on so many fronts for the western powers to have their way. Alhassane Outtara should beware, because Gbagbo's supporters are still alive. A word to the wise they say, is in Ouattara's north. My last question is, will Gbagbo be given a fair trial?