Thursday, July 24, 2008
The African Union is gaining notoriety for supporting member governments even when world opinion is against them. After shamefully allowing Mugabe to steal the polls in Zimbabwe, the Union’s voice on Darfur hasn’t been this loudest and defensive- but sadly in the wrong direction.
The African Union has added its voice to the Arab League’s, calling on the UN Security Council to suspend war crimes charges leveled against Sudanese president Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court. The AU has criticized the ICC for being one-sided in dealing with Darfur and Africa as a whole. But hasn’t the AU betrayed Africans many times more when its silence on gruesome attacks by some of its treacherous leaders have gone uncriticised? Judging from all the public relations gimmick a visibly pressurized Bashir engages in these days, it does seem deviant leaders will forever be afraid of the ICC. More power to the ICC!