South Sudan and Wind of New War: Where Does it Come From?

Alexander Mezyaev


An oil field in Heglig, Sudan, that caught fire in the fighting be-
tween Sudanese and South Sudanese forces
(Associated Press)

In the middle of December the situation in South Sudan abruptly turned for the worse. On December 15 ten cabinet members were arrested and charged with an attempt to stage a coup d’état. (1) Riek Machar, former Vice-President of South Sudan, is the main suspect to be charged. He was dismissed from his position this June, but is still at large. (2) Machar says he had no relation to the coup…

According to the government of South Sudan, Juba, the capital, is tranquil again, the diplomatic missions are secure. (3) But it’s too early to say the situation is fully stabilized. Fighting has renewed in Juba, insurgents captured a number of large cities, for instance Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State. (4) The town of Mading-Bor, the Jonglei State's capital city, situated in central South Sudan, keeps on changing hands. (5)

South Sudan has plunged into the quagmire of civil war. The Dinka people are subject to mass slaughter. (6) It is called «ethnic cleansing» in an attempt to avoid using the word «genocide». According to United Nations convention, genocide is the «intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such». It constitutes a legal ground for an intervention of the «international community» and such structures as the International Criminal Court. It also includes a political element – the people of Dinka traditionally support President Salva Kiir, while the Lou Nuer people side with (ousted) Vice-President Riek Machar...


Who the International Criminal Court Is Really Created for?

Alexander Mezyaev


President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. Al-Bashir is the first
sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.

Not long ago the International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a noteworthy ruling. Formally it was related to two African states – Malawi and Chad visited by president of Sudan Omar al-Bashir. Their fault was not so much receiving him but rather not putting him under arrest. The warrant was issued by the ICC back in 2009. According to the ICC Statute all states are to cooperate with the Court. A refusal to arrest president of Sudan Omar al-Bashir became a substantiation for making responsible the states that appear to have no relation to it. The decision exposes the real essence of the ICC as an instrument of global hegemony reflected in grandiloquent legal form. It has at least two reasons.

Let’s start with a few words concerning the first one. It lies on the surface. The gist of it is that the ICC tries to establish a system of total control over all states that are signatories to the Statute. Any state that doesn’t cooperate with the ICC is to be punished. As I see it, the ICC goes far beyond international law and even its own Statute. The matter is a demand to arrest a head of a neighboring state and “cooperation” with the ICC are not identical notions.

And at that, not all states refusing to cooperate with the Court are punished. Just a few days after Malawi and Chad were publicly flogged the president of Sudan visited Libya. The reaction was quite different. The Court did not take measures against Libya, moreover it pretended not to notice the event. The Libyan authorities had not been told to arrest al-Bashir before the visit and no steps against them were taken afterwards. So why this gap in attitudes towards different countries displayed by the International Criminal Court? The reason is that al-Bashir took an active part in the Gaggafi’s overthrow. And it raises a question, if the price for it wasn’t his own safety in relation to the ICC...

It’s noteworthy that some countries are allowed not to comply with the ICC decisions, for instance France. A few weeks ago Florance Hartmann, former spokesperson press-secretary for the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), who is a citizen of France, received a seven years prison sentence from the Tribunal (for disclosing classified information related to the case of S. Milosevic). France refused to comply with the Court’s order. The French authorities said the obligation to cooperate with the Court encompasses only the cases where military criminals are involved. F. Hartmann had no relation to war crimes. The Tribunal was bashfully silent.


Health topic page on womens health Womens health our team of physicians Womens health breast cancer lumps heart disease Womens health information covers breast Cancer heart pregnancy womens cosmetic concerns Sexual health and mature women related conditions Facts on womens health female anatomy Womens general health and wellness The female reproductive system female hormones Diseases more common in women The mature woman post menopause Womens health dedicated to the best healthcare
buy viagra online