Blame Somebody Else (BSE) Fatou Bensouda of the ICC By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

The easiest way for making excuses for one's misgivings 'failures' is to either make rationalizations or blame somebody else (B.S.E.). As the psychologists say, throwing charges against third parties to justify the failure of the self is a kind of self-defense mechanism to ward off one’s tension. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda said on Friday 12.12.2014 that the Court has kept the investigation into war crimes in the Darfur region of western Sudan, due to the lack of support of the (UNSC).
The ICC for the people of Sudan in Darfur has been the final candle in the Darkness of the injustice; sadly, it has gone out and extinguished!
This article comes against the backdrop of the statements made by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ms. Fatou Bensouda on December 2014 that she decided to shelve the Darfur issues because of lack of support from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The first question that comes to mind is as to what has the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda achieved for Darfur since taking office to succeed Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo.
The simple answer, using a modest language, is either invisible or a zero. Ms. Bensouda has not attempted to visit Sudan, as her predecessor Ocampo used to do, let alone visiting the region of Darfur. Even worse, Ms. Bensouda has not yet prepared and presented the budget for the unit of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the 2015 to the Organization of the United Nations (UN).
Moreover, we have not heard about the attempts by Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Ms. Bensouda of meeting and carrying out interview with witnesses for fact-finding about the heinous crimes committed and continuing to be committed by militias and the Government of Sudan's army in Darfur. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda did not care to ask the government of Sudan (GoS) to cooperate with an investigation into the crimes that were allegedly committed lately by the Sudanese army soldiers and allied militias committed in Darfur. Ms. Bensouda, has sadly wasted her two and half year as the (ICC) Prosecutor on the job in vain.

The genocidal criminal fugitive from international justice tyrant Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir was dancing with joy in front of a crowd of his hirelings and supporters in central Sudan region of al-Gezira yesterday when he heard about the decision and statement of the ICC Prosecutor, Ms. Fatu Bensouda.

News media reported that Omar al-Bashir said while he was dancing with joy in front of his crowd that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has closed the Darfur dossier as a result of the rejection of the Sudan People for humiliation and subjugation!
What the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda did represented what is known as the excuse, which is uglier than the sin!
However, legitimate rights of the suppressed peoples do not fall off or lost because of the length of time passed/longevity. Lawmakers and its scholars state that legitimate rights will not fall legally because of the length of time that has passed over crimes.

In spite of the current, seemingly failure of the (ICC), there is no justification to take it plausible some of the African country leaders’ statements that the (ICC) had become a "tool to target" the African continent. Those voices seem to have followed the dismissal of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's case by the (ICC) in The Hague recently. Putting the blame on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as intentionally persecuting African leaders is unfair. In fact, the Court has already indicted perpetrators of crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Continent, perpetrators of crimes in Cambodia in the Asian Continent and the perpetrators of heinous crimes against humanity in the Latin American countries in South American Continent. Accordingly, the view held by the African Union (AU) that the (ICC) only targets Africa has not supported by evidence of what the (ICC) has done since its inauguration. The ICC began functioning on 1 July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered into force. It seems that crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity are more frequently committed in the African Continent countries compared to the countries of other continents, political analysts said.
The negative position adopted by the senior staff of the Peacekeeping Administration in the office of the United Nations Secretary General towards the Darfur issue recently was clear. Although the scandalous process of covering- up of the cover-up by the joint mission of the United Nations and the African Union (UNAMID) mission to Darfur for non-reporting the crimes perpetrated by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers and allied Janjaweed militias was alarming, the attitude of the ICC Prosecutor Ms. Fatou Bensouda stands out as pathetic by all accounts. That attitude obviously would not exonerate the (UN) of their predicaments. Bensouda stated that she would direct her efforts and budget towards other thorny issues instead of Darfur, at this moment. Here, the (ICC) Prosecutor appears in contradiction with her main reason for suspending the Darfur issues' dossier, lack of support by the (UNSC). The logical question that arises is from whom other the (UN) Ms. Bensouda, plans getting the support she needs to deal with issues other than those in Darfur. Whereas the second question states as to whom the (ICC) Prosecutor leaves the defenseless civilians who are in dire conditions in Darfur, as she mentioned in her report to the UN Security Council on 12 December 2014.
Thus, the decision of the (ICC) Prosecutor seemed giving the impression to the perpetrators of the atrocious crimes that they defeated the International justice. Furthermore, the decision of Ms. Bensouda to the perpetrators as though she told them that impunity as the winner in the bloody conflicts in Sudan. Moreover, the decision of the Prosecutor gives a false sense of victory for criminals like the Génocidaire Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and as well gives the impression to the relatives of the victims and the survivors that there is no way but violence in front of them for staying in peace and the only way to gain legitimate rights. But people of Sudan in Darfur feel assured that the UN Security Resolution 1593, dated March 31, 2005 under Chapter 7 of the United Nation (UN) Charter will still continue chasing the criminals for apprehension and trial in the (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands, no matter how long that would take. Thus, there is no escape for perpetrators of crimes indicted by the (ICC) in any way, but if they die before being brought before the Court.
The popular adage says No one scratches your skin better than your own fingernail! Thus, for the people of Sudan in Darfur must take the lead and the initiative to move their case into the forefront. The people of the world who supported the issue of Darfur in the early part of this decade and the international community need addressing to shed lights of their radar to the Darfur issue. This remains a pivotal issue even in the midst of the problems of concern the world began facing in the last two years. Furthermore, the task of addressing the recent decision of the Prosecutor of the (ICC) and the inaction of the (UNSC) against the perpetrators of crimes in Darfur on all the sectors of people of Sudan as well as the supporters of the rights and international justice in the world. This is the time for the people of the world to put pressure on the (ICC) and the (UN) since there is no peace or stability without the application of the international justice. For the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council to shoulder their “Responsibility to Protect” towards the people of Darfur for justice takes its course.
"If justice perishes, human life on Earth has lost its meaning." Immanuel Kant, German Philosopher.
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

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