Daily Darfur: Rebel Goes To The Hague

A Darfur rebel leader voluntarily surrendered himself to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges stemming from an attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007. The ICC issued a sealed summons for Bahr Idriss Abu Garda on May 7, along with two others, and announced his arrival at The Hague over the weekend:

"It is the first time the court has issued a summons rather than an arrest warrant. It is empowered to issue a summons if believes a suspect will submit to trial voluntarily. The court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that the governments of Chad, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali and the Gambia had all helped to secure Abu Garda's appearance."

Twelve AU peacekeepers died in the attack in Haskanita in September 2007:

"By killing peacekeepers, the perpetrators attacked the millions of civilians who those soldiers came to protect," Ocampo said in a statement. "Attacking peacekeepers is a serious crime ... and shall be prosecuted."

(Kevin at Opinio Juris is ambivalent about the case, however.)

Despite the case against the rebels, which follows the issuance of three arrest warrants for Sudanese government officials (most recently, President Omar al-Bashir), the Government of Sudan continues to assert that the ICC is a tool of a Western conspiracy against Khartoum, and that no Sudanese should appear before it. Abu Garda, scheduled in court this afternoon, will be the first person to appear before the ICC for crimes committed in Darfur:

"We want to set an example to the Sudanese leadership and others accused in Sudan," said Tadjadine Niam, a member of the Darfurian delegation traveling with Abu Garda, in a telephone interview. "We believe the court is independent and impartial. Let the others also come to the court."

It is rather uncommon for accused criminals (on the international scene, or otherwise) to appear voluntarily, which makes me more than a little curious about the motive and process of getting Abu Garda to The Hague. Is he really as secure in his innocence as he claims? Does the idea of a trip to Europe sound appealing after years of desert warfare? What's going on behind-the-scenes that we don't now about? (There's always something going on behind the scenes that we don't know about.)

Quickies

The Justice and Equality Movement seized a key town on the road to the capital of North Darfur yesterday, following a series of clashes last week. From Reuters:

"The reports will stoke growing tensions in the volatile area which borders Chad. Sudan accused Chad of launching three airstrikes in north Darfur Friday and Saturday.

Diplomatic sources in Khartoum have said JEM may be planning a major offensive in Darfur, partly in retaliation for an incursion by Chadian insurgents into Chad earlier this month."

The Secretary General of the Arab League arrived in Khartoum yesterday for talks on Darfur.

A delegation of the UN Security Council is on an eight-day, four-nation trip to Africa for a series of consultations on the continent's conflict hot-spots, including Darfur.