OPINION> Commentary
Help Sudan's peace process
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-30 07:31

The international community should make efforts to promote the peace process in Sudan instead of laying obstacles to it, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Earlier this month, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, indicted Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region and requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for the latter, and thus stirred up a controversy.

The Sudanese government rejected the indictment immediately and reiterated that any Sudanese stands outside of the court's jurisdiction. Other African countries also were worried that the ICC's move would do nothing but harm to the already-initiated peace talk. And as a response to the charge, Bashir went to inspect the Darfur region on July 23.

As is known, the Darfur crisis has been caused not single-handedly by a certain leader, but by a combination of various political, economic, cultural and environmental factors over a long period of time. Therefore, unilateral and simple treatment like the indictment may only bring more uncertainties, rather than hopes, as it may push rebel groups who have not yet entered the peace process toward a tougher and non-compromising stance. More seriously, any deterioration of the situation in Darfur will threaten security in the whole region, just as Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, said that the indictment will boil over into a crisis that damages the whole peace process.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his grave concern with the indictment when interviewed by a French paper, saying it could have a serious impact on the peace process and peacekeeping efforts by the international society.

The indictment turned out to be totally unacceptable to Arab and African countries. In this the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila A. Odinga's attitude may be the most representative as he believes that the Darfur issue cannot be solved by looking around for evidence to prove whether a single person is guilty or not.

Furthermore, it is also natural for people in Africa to doubt the credibility of the Hague-based ICC, which hands out its unilateral justice only to weaker countries but shuts its lips tight in the face of war and unjust tragedies caused by major powers.

In fact, as multi-lateral efforts have pushed the Sudanese government into negotiating with the rebellious militias for a peaceful solution, what the international society should create is an atmosphere for cooperation and consultation, rather than a blockade in the way.

(China Daily 07/30/2008 page8)