Genocide Charge Now Possible For Sudanese President

From the Associated Press:

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court will again consider charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur, after an appeals panel ruled that judges made an "error in law" when they refused to indict him on that charge last year.

"He should get a lawyer," court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said after ruling Wednesday.

He accused al-Bashir of keeping 2.5 million refugees from specific ethnic groups in Darfur in camps "under genocide conditions, like a gigantic Auschwitz."

The appeals decision — which said the burden of proof should be lower when prosecutors seek an indictment than when they try to secure a conviction at trial — fueled hopes among human rights activists that prosecutors will indict other leaders around the world for atrocities.

Moreno Ocampo welcomed the decision to reopen the Darfur genocide case and vowed to give judges even more evidence when they again consider charging al-Bashir with genocide.

A five-judge appeals chamber said the International Criminal Court wrongly concluded in March that there was insufficient evidence to charge al-Bashir with three counts of genocide for allegedly attempting to wipe out entire ethnic groups in the war-ravaged province of Darfur.

Instead, the court charged him with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly orchestrating a campaign of murder, torture, rape and forced expulsions in Darfur.

The Sudanese president refuses to recognize the court's jurisdiction and has vowed never to surrender to it. Since the charges were issued, he has traveled to friendly countries but called off trips to nations where he fears he could be arrested and sent to The Hague.

Moreno Ocampo credited his investigations in Darfur with energizing peace efforts.

Since he launched his case in 2008 "everything is moving," Moreno Ocampo said. "When I presented my case, there was no peace process ... now there are vibrant discussions."

Moreno Ocampo accuses al-Bashir of mobilizing the entire Sudanese state apparatus with the aim of destroying a substantial part of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in Darfur over more than six years.

Prosecutors accuse Sudanese troops and the janjaweed Arab militia they support of murdering civilians and preying on them in refugee camps. Moreno Ocampo said part of the alleged genocide was a campaign of rape to drive women into the desert, where they die of starvation.

The Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit peoples are African peoples. The Masalit are Muslims. The Arab government is waging a Jihad against black people.

They enslave women and children.

The modern enslavement of black people for racist reasons.

A modern Jihad against black people for racist reasons.

And, the world yawns.

Thank God for Moreno Ocampo.