CAIRO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior Sudanese official said here his country is seeking for legal defenses to refute International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor's call to arrest Sudanese president over alleged war crimes, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported on Sunday.
Sudan is consulting Arab legal experts in this regard, Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Salman al-Wasilla said at a seminar in Cairo.
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Sudan, which is not a member of the ICC, has rejected the ICC allegations, dismissing them as "null and false" and maintaining the ICC has no jurisdiction over Sudan.
Now that latter para should ring a very loud bell with a wide range of people, not least those from the US, because Sudan is not alone in adopting this approach.
As for criticising Sudan for going this way, people should realise that the US (a good number of your citizens) does seem to have this peculiar penchant for choosing quite strange comparatives to support untenable positions. Most recent example I can point to from the probligo's universe would be Dave Justus use of Nigeria as the example of support for GWB from a democratic country that in his opinion should represent the rest of Africa - well, sub-Saharan Africa at least - if not global support for GWB.
So, here y'go. Why should Sudan not refute the ICC's jurisdiction over their President when there are other, far more powerful, instances where the same approach has been taken.
Personally, I read articles like this with a quiet tear in the eye. Not because Sudan is Sudan, or that the principle of sovereignty is wrong. It is because in the world of real politics there is no equity, no "justice", without the might of arms.
In the instance of Sudan, there is no difference (as I see it) between China's support for the present regime there and the US's involvement in Iraq. I still do not believe that there is any fundamental difference in the political rationales used to justify their involvement (by either of China and the US). I still do not believe that there is any real difference in the outcomes - if Iraq is quietening down it may well be because the Sunnis are leaving for Syria, Iran, Jordan, Saudi... take a visit to riverbend.blogspot to see the story of just one person.
Most importantly, both China and the US are equally at odds with my personal beliefs. But then I have no say in the actions of either nation; and let's face it neither would be interested if they even knew of the probligo's existence.
There lies the crux of the problem in Sudan. The people affected can be ignored simply because "they do not exist". Oh, there are several million displaced persons; how sad, never mind. There are thousands been murdered; again, how sad, how cruel, how ... undemocratic. "I" can blame the Chinese; "I" can blame the UN; "I" can blame the probligo even. It makes no difference. "I" don't know any of "them" as people and hence their pain and suffering can be easily set aside.
