Sudan: War Crimes Prosecutions Are Banned

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March 5, 2007: The Sudan government said that it would not allow any of its citizens to be tried outside of Sudan, thus rejecting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (which indicted two Sudanese for crimes in Darfur.)

March 3, 2007: Ugandan LRA rebels ambushed and killed two people in southern Sudan. This comes at a time when Sudan is trying to coax LRA rebels into returning to peace negotiations with the Ugandan government.

Four armed men raided the home of an AU (African Union) official in the town of El Fasher (Darfur). The attackers tied up the AU official and stole his vehicle.

March 2, 2007: Irans president said that Iran and Sudan had agreed "to defend" each other in "international" forums. The statement refers to a "memorandum of understanding" Iran and Sudan agreed to earlier in the week. Iran and Sudan will support each other when they face criticism and sanctions by international organizations (like the UN) and criticism from "the West."

February 27, 2007: The International Criminal Court's (ICC) indicted a former Sudanese government minister and a "janjaweed" militia leader. The charges included war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The former government minister was identified as Ahmad Muhammad Harun. Harun was once Minister of the Interior (a powerful portfolio in Sudan). The militia leader is Ali Kushayb. The indictment indicated Kushayb had collaborated with Harun to commit crimes in Darfur. The indictment specified attacks on the villages of Bindisi, Mukjar, Arawala, and Kodoom. The alleged attacks on civilians took place from August 2003 to March 2004. Kushayb is a particularly interesting character. He is described as being a "colonel of colonels" ­ie, a senior commander of janjaweed militiamen ("Aqid al Oqada"). The ICC claims that he commanded "thousands" of militiamen in Darfur. The two men were among approximately four-dozen suspected criminals that the UN Security Council "referred" to the ICC in March 2005.

The UN Security Council said that it would consider sending a UN-sponsored peacekeeping force to both Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR). The Security Council followed up on a statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ban wants the UN to put 11,000 peacekeepers in Chad to help protect refugees from Darfur who are in Sudan. Of course that puts a UN-led force on the Sudan border ­ and in position to extend peacekeeping duties into Sudan.

February 26, 2007: Senior leaders from Sudan and Iran met and said that they would attempt to "coordinate" their policies in order to "maintain a long term strategic political partnership." Both Sudan and Iran face an array of UN sanctions.

 

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