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Are Africans angry with the International Criminal Court?
By Abdul Salam Sule,
Ghanadot
Accra, June 2, Ghanadot -
The International Criminal Court
(ICC) was an independent court that was set up to try persons
accused of the most serious crimes of international concern such
as genocide, war crimes, crime against humanity and to some
extent crime of aggression.
The ICC has its tribunal in The Hague, the capital town of the
Netherlands and it was opened in July 2002.
Despite its good intentions, many Africans seem to be angry with
the ICC and has questioned whether it is an all African court or
a court for the world.
Mrs Beatrice Torshie Torto, a renowned writer in Ghana has for
instance had a beef with the ICC. In her article titled 'Is the
International Criminal Court an all African Court', she wonders
about the neutrality of the ICC.
She noted that, all the cases before the court and those under
investigations by the prosecutor are from the African continent
and the affected countries are Republic of Congo, Central
African Republic, Liberia and recently Sudan.
Mrs Torto said, there is no dispute about the effectiveness of
the International Criminal Court and the role it is playing to
curb crime.
"However, when a court concentration is focused
on one continent and turned blind eye on the other areas where
similar or more of such crimes had taking place, then there is a
call for concern", she stated.
She revealed, the recent bombing of Georgia by Russia, Palestineans
in the Gaza by Israel and the USA in Afghanistan
and Iraq can be labeled as crime against humanity as innocent
people were killed along side soldiers at war.
"The ICC seems to have turned blind eye on these occurances
while the United Nations is also not doing anything about it.
These countries are equally guilty and must be allow to face
prosecution", she said.
In a press conference held in Accra, Mr Courtney Griffiths, the
lead counsel for Charles Taylor, the former Liberian President
said, there is a studied silence from the international
communities when it comes to the crimes committed by the super
power states.
"The cruel reality is that, impunity only becomes an issue if
the perpetrator is a black African who does not enjoy the
backing of the West and the arrest of Charles Taylor and the
recent indictment of President Al-Bashir of Sudan are clear
examples", he said.
He said, it was time Africans take charge of their own destiny
and asked why the trial of Charles Taylor did not take place in
Africa and the failure of the African Union to established its
own court to deal with issues that affect Africans in Africa.
"If a corporal in the American Army can not be tried in the
International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against
humanity, how come an African President can?, he asked.
According to Griffiths, one reason that Taylor's trial and
trials of other Africans were taken to The Hague was because, it
was easier to destroy the rights of a people when they were in
the dark.
He has therefore urged Africans to unite and fight for the right
of its sons and daughters and also ensure that, the
International Criminal Court does not become a 21st century form
of neo-colonialism.
In his article titled 'Reaping the whirlwind' Mr Baffour Ankomah,
the editor of New African Magazine wrote in the May 2009 edition
of the magazine that, the African Union (AU) is partly to be
blamed for the attitude of the ICC towards Africa. He said, the
failure by the AU to condemned the arrest of Charles gave
strength to the ICC to come for more.
He said, at the time of Taylor's arrest in March 2006, the
African leadership, the UN and the US had given him an immunity
from prosecution and that made him to voluntarily step down as
the President of Liberia in 2003.
"If African leaders were silent over Taylor's arrest, why are
they now shouting themselves hoarse over the President Bashir
indictment", he asked.
He has however call for unity among African states to protect
its citizens.
Ghanadot
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