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| Africa Horn |
| Prosecuting Beshir won't help Darfur, says Kenyan PM |
| 2008-07-21 |
| Prosecuting Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes in Darfur is not going to end the conflict, Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga said in an interview with BBC television Sunday. "I think that, basically, to try to exonerate people here and there or to appropriate blame is not going to resolve the issue of Darfur," he told the broadcaster from Nairobi when asked about his view of the move. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was asked last Monday for Beshir to be arrested on genocide charges. If granted, the arrest warrant would be the first issued by the court against a sitting head of state. The request, from ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has prompted criticism, notably from the Arab League, some of whose members have said it threatens the prospects for peace in the troubled western Sudanese region. Leaders of the African Union have also warned that indicting Beshir could lead to a power vacuum in Sudan, increasing the risk of military coups and even anarchy, scuppering efforts to resolve the situation. Odinga said: "So many lives have been lost in Darfur. "I think it's necessary for the African Union to be much more proactive on this issue, to lead the way, so that the rest of the international community supports the initiative of the African Union." Meanwhile, Darfur's new chief mediator Djibril Bassole made his first visit to Sudan on Sunday as he begins his uphill task of reigniting a stalled peace process. "This will be a difficult mission but it's not mission impossible," he told reporters after long talks with Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti. Bassole, the foreign minister of Burkino Faso, faces numerous obstacles to securing peace. "My priorities will be defined by the Sudanese but we must strengthen dialogue and ask for a cessation of hostilities to create the conditions to search for a comprehensive political solution," Bassole said. Bassole's task will be complicated by the fact he speaks neither Arabic or English, the languages understood by those negotiating, whether from rebels or from the government. Bassole will be based in Darfur's main town el-Fasher, a critical improvement on his predecessors UN envoy Jan Eliasson and his African Union counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim who were often criticised for their "part-time diplomacy" jetting into the country for short visits every few months. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 The African Dictator Protective Association springs into action. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-07-21 11:41 |
| #2 Of course, if one crooked, murderous african politician gets nabbed, who knows which one might be next? If Diogenes was around today, there's one whole frickin' continent he could skip over in his search... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-07-21 09:31 |
| #1 Guess we should just forget about it then. Let bygones be bygones, bury the hatchet. Where is that darned hatchet anyway? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-07-21 06:53 |