Initial Word from the ICC:
The news broke online when the ICC issued a press release announcing its second arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir, this time for three counts of genocide:
“[T]here are reasonable grounds to believe [Omar al-Bashir] responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, that include: genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.”
Media Coverage:
After the ICC issued its press release, BBC News was among the first of the primary media outlets to report the story online. Traffic from those who took an early interest in the story made it one of the most frequently tweeted and posted internet sources for people looking for the essential information on Monday morning.
The Associated Press was also a frequently referenced information source among tweeters, bloggers, and Facebook users who wanted to spread the word about the warrant. In this article, AP reporter Mike Corder calls the three charges against al-Bashir “a move that will pile further diplomatic pressure on his isolated regime” and noted that this is the first time the ICC has issued charges of genocide.
CNN added commentary on the AU’s reaction to ICC charges against al-Bashir:
“The African Union this year urged the court to delay war crimes proceedings against Sudan’s president, saying a decision allowing genocide charges harms peace efforts. ‘The African Union has always emphasized its commitment to justice and its total rejection of impunity,’ it said in a statement in February. ‘At the same time, the AU reiterates that the search for justice should be pursued in a manner not detrimental to the search for peace. The latest decision by the ICC (International Criminal Court) runs in the opposite direction.’”
Reuters released a piece with statements from Sudanese officials later in the day:
“Bashir says the allegations made by the ICC, the world’s first permanent court for prosecuting war crimes, are part of a Western conspiracy. The ICC warrant was the first issued against a sitting head of state by the court.
Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the new arrest warrant a ‘malignant and desperate attempt’ to destabilize the country.
‘We condemn this move in strongest terms and we are confident that the Sudanese people and all peaceloving nations will ensure the demise of this criminal institution,’ Abdalhaleem said in a statement, referring to the ICC.”
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In response to potential changes in President Obama’s Sudan policy, Sudan Now, a campaign led by a group of prominent anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations, is running ads in The New York Times and the Vineyard Gazette to influence the president’s decision, expected soon, on the future direction of U.S. Sudan policy.
