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| Omar al-Bashir circa 2009 |
Omar al-Bashir is the current president of the African
country of Sudan. He has been the president through the end of the Sudanese
civil war and the entirety of the Darfur conflict. Omar al-Bashir is suspected
of precipitating war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, including genocide.
Omar al-Bashir was born on January 1, 1944 in Sudan. He came
from a simple farming family. He attended school in the area in which he was
raised. Later, he moved to the capital of Sudan-Khartoum-and attended the
national military academy there. He later attended the national military
academy in Cairo, Egypt. He then went on to fight with the Egyptian Army in the
Arab-Israeli War. He was a paratrooper from 1969-1987. He also fought against
the Sudan Liberation Army in the Sudan civil war.
By 1989, Omar al-Bashir was a colonel in the Sudanese Army.
That year, he led a successful coup d'etat against the Sudanese government. In
1993, he named himself President of Sudan. Elections were held three years
later and he won. He has won every election since.
When Omar al-Bashir became President of Sudan, the country
was ripped apart by civil war. It took Omar more than 10 years to end the
conflict. However, by that time, a major conflict in Darfur had been raging for
two years. This conflict arose when rebel groups in Darfur, namely JEM (Justice
and Equality Movement) and DLA (Darfur Liberation Army) began fighting the
government. These rebels felt that they were being marginalized by the
government of Sudan. In other words, they felt they were not being given the
same rights and governmental power as the rest of Sudan. They were probably
right. Omar al-Bashir responded by sending the Sudanese army to Darfur. He may
have sent something else as well.
Before the current Darfur conflict, nomadic Arab tribes and
the other "black" tribes of Darfur would fight over land and
resources from time to time. There was nothing on the scale of the latest
conflict. Nevertheless, when Omar al-Bashir sent his troops into Darfur, a
terror known as the Janjaweed emerged. The Janjaweed are primarily Darfurians
of Arab descent. When the conflict began, the Janjaweed had weapons all of a
sudden and were launching what can only be called terrorist attacks on the
people of Darfur. They have most certainly been raping, stealing and burning
down the villages of civilians in Darfur. The atrocities are too many to
describe here. Omar al-Bashir claims that he and his government have nothing to
do with these atrocities.
To all appearances, it seems as if the government of Sudan
is supplying the Janjaweed with the weapons and permissions they need to commit
genocide on the people of Darfur. Omar al-Bashir refuses to admit it, though it
is rather suspicious that his army is not stopping these attacks on the
citizens of Sudan. These citizens have been starved, raped and driven from
their homes. Some live in refugee camps in bordering countries. Some live in
camps in Darfur. More than 2 million people are displaced and an estimated
300,000 are dead.
In 2009, the International Criminals Court issued an arrest
warrant for Omar al-Bashir for two counts of war crimes and five counts of
crimes against humanity. He has not been arrested. On July 12, 2010, another
warrant was issued. This new warrant included a count of genocide. The first
warrant is still in place. Of course, like any court, the ICC will have to
arrest Omar al-Bashir and prove he is guilty before they are able to punish
him. Nonetheless, this warrant should set an example to the international
community. War crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity should not be
tolerated, no matter who commits them. Omar al-Bashir is the first sitting head
of state to have a warrant for such crimes issued against him.
Sources
Darfur: ICC Charges Sudanese President with Genocide, retrieved
8/1/10, darfurpeace.org/darfur-icc-charges-sudanese-president-with-genocide
Profile: Omar al-Bashir, retrieved 8/1/10,
guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes
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