On Wednesday, Liu Guijin, China’s point man on Darfur called for an expected indictment by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to be “postponed.” While the judges of the ICC have yet to rule on the request for the indictment against Bashir, China’s efforts to preemptively defend Bashir are both outrageous and irresponsible, and ignore the plight of those still suffering in Darfur. Suspending an investigation into crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide would be unconscionable.
Moreover, China’s logic for calling for the postponement is baffling. Liu said that if an ICC indictment is issued “[Bashir] will become a kind of criminal suspect.” Liu asked “how can the international community consider the criminal suspect as a credible partner…for the Darfur political process.” The Chinese government is arguing that an indictment should not be handed down because the world will not be able to deal diplomatically with a criminal – in essence, Bashir should be let off the hook for his crimes because of his responsibility for those same crimes!
Fortunately, China does not seem willing to offer the necessary motion at the United Nations Security Council to suspend the Bashir investigation, so their opposition is thus far purely rhetorical. That said, Liu’s statement provides an important insight into how China plans to deal with the Darfur issue in the coming year, and shows that they plan to continue their unvarnished support for the Bashir regime.
With a new year starting at the United Nations and with an incoming Obama administration which has voiced strong support for ending the genocide in Darfur, China’s hand may quickly be forced by potential U.S.-led efforts to expand the U.N. arms embargo and strengthen the sanctions regime against the Sudanese government. Will China finally become a responsible stakeholder in the process to end the Darfur genocide in 2009 or will it continue to play an obstructionist role? Time will tell, but early returns aren’t promising.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
