Now Can We Do Something About Darfur?

Earlier this morning, I read something that made me very excited.

The President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir has been charged by the International Criminal Court's Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo (pictured) for crimes against humanity, murder and genocide.

I know that may sound like an odd article to get excited about but this is something that has been a long time coming and could possibly serve as the first act that moves some of the world leaders and global powers (cough USA cough Canada cough) into action in the war-ravaged, deathlands that are Darfur.

As is usually the case in situations like this, the accused is proclaiming the accusations as politically motivated, unjust and unfounded.

Hopefully, those charged with the duty of reviewing the evidence that will eventually bring this man to The Hague to stand trial for these crimes do not overlook the hundreds of thousands of dead bodies that populate the landscapes of Western Sudan.

Or the generation of babies and children known as "Janjaweed Babies," a name they've been given as products of rape at the hands of the government back militia whose name (janjaweed) literally translates to "Devil on Horseback."

Or the entire section of the movie Darfur Now in which Ocampo builds the case that has now become these indictments against al-Bashir.

Maybe now - now that an independant court of last resort that deals only in atrocities has issued indictments for genocide, amongst other things - will the rest of the world get off it's ass and do something about the situation in Darfur.

* * * * * * * * * *

There are a whole host of links in the Sites I Frequent section you can visit for mor information about Darfur and how to become involved.