The problems of Darfur have been aggravated by the Sudanese Government and JEM is ready for the arrest of Al Bashir by the ICC

In recent history, Darfur as a region has suffered appallingly at the hands of the Sudanese government. The reason for this is that a small minority has held control over the country for the last 52 years and has unashamedly discriminated against Darfur during this time. However, it is in the last six years in particular that Darfur has suffered blatant oppression by the Government and endured an ongoing war against civilians. Khartoum’s intention is to ethnically cleanse Darfur of all those belonging to black African tribes – the very people who are native to the land of Darfur. Al Bashir’s domination has caused great suffering and torment from the atrocities committed by him on Sudanese soil. After the Darfur conflict in 2003, the rebels began fighting the Government but it must be said that the reason for the Rebels’ attack was constant aggression by the Sudanese Government itself. Since 2003, the Government has used and mobilized the Arab janjaweed militias to fight against the black African tribes of Darfur. This military action has included intense aerial attacks, followed by fighting on the ground. The purpose of this fighting is to rid the region of all African tribes. During this time, the people of Darfur have often attempted to bring peace to the negotiation table with Khartoum via the peace talks in Abishi city in Chad in April 2004 and in Abuja, Nigeria. But the Sudanese Government has failed to engage with these negotiations several times. It is extraordinary that the Government has not attempted to solve the dilemma its country is facing and even the lack of credibility of the legitimacy of President Al-Bashir himself does not apparently put a stop to the continuous crimes committed against the civilians of Darfur. The result of this is that Darfur has become a victim of genocide in the twenty first century. More that 300,000 people have died and a further 2.8 million fled their homes to escape the atrocities perpetrated by the Sudanese Government. Waves of rape, mass slaughter, massacres, tortures and killing have led to the total destruction of hundreds of villages and towns, compounded by properties being set on fire and rendered useless to return to. As a result of these atrocities, Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor to the ICC, issued in July 2008 a request for an arrest warrant for President Al Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Al Bashir has masterminded the genocide by using Arab Janjaweed militias to ethnically cleanse the black African tribes from Darfur – namely the Fur, Massaleit and Zaghawa tribes. The Government deny the charges and say the accusations of the ICC are merely acts of neo-colonialism by Western countries, regardless of the fact that the blood of Al Bashir’s genocide has yet to dry. At the same time, the Government itself has admitted that ten thousand innocent people have died at the hands of the Government. It seems that China, Russia, the African union and the Arab League have no embarrassment in attempting to block the justice being implemented by the independent ICC which has jurisdiction over Sudan. After several days of negotiation in Doha, Qatar, JEM and the Sudanese Government have signed a peace deal which hopes to pave the way for calming of hostilities between both sides. This step towards peace has been taken after mediation between UN and African countries whose intention it is that both sides put a stop to the conflict and accomplish peace in Darfur, despite the behaviour of the Sudanese Government. The Sudanese Government has said that it will not cooperate with the ICC. Indeed, Al BAshir, who is the brains behind the atrocities, claims that implementation could lead to more violence. A head of NISS has said that Sudan is ready to fight back if there is any attempt by the ICC to arrest Al Bashir. Meanwhile the record of Sudan during this time is one of a country that hosts radicals and extremists and imports substantial amounts of illegal weapons from Russia, China, India and Iran. Not to mention that it uses these weapons against its own civilians – weapons that are deemed by the international community as illegal. Whilst Sudan is refusing to recognize the International Criminal Court, JEM looks forward to its announcement on 4 March 2009, and hopes for the issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omer Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir. It is their wish that he will be handed over to the Hague to stand trial for his crimes.

Jaafar Mirmar
07958459560 - London