Foreign Service Journal

CYBERNOTES

50 Years Ago...

Early in his career every young officer should become acutely aware of the importance of establishing and

maintaining mutual respect and understanding between

Americans and permanent local employees. … The morale and efficiency of many a post are directly affected by the sincerity and smoothness of this relationship.

— Editorial: “Essential Continuity and the FSL,” FSJ, March 1959.

against a head of state, may constitute a turning point.

Last July, after three years of investigation, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo charged Bashir with 10 counts of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. The court’s pretrial chamber now has to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Speculation is rife concerning the possible response should an indictment be forthcoming. “Anything is possible,” reports IRIN, the news and analysis office of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (www. irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Report Id=82508).

Backers of the ICC move insist that removing Bashir will clear the way for peace negotiations. He has categorically rejected the charges and made clear that he has no intention of bowing to international pressure.

The Sudanese president is also taking advantage of the fact that the ICC’s actions are as vexing for the U.N. Security Council as they are for him. Among council members holding a veto, only France and Britain unequivocally support the ICC.

With huge investments in Sudan and also a nonsignatory to the Rome Statutes, China is opposed to further ICC action. And both the Arab League and the African Union urge postpone-ment of the decision, as well.

The United States, which has designated the Arab-dominated Sudanese government’s actions against the Fur and other African tribes in Darfur as genocide, nonetheless remains reluctant to push for an arrest warrant, both because it does not recognize the ICC and it is not a signatory to the Rome Statutes ( wwww.ipsnews.net/africa/ nota.asp?inews=43234).

Meanwhile, the violence in Darfur has intensified, with threats of possible Darfur rebel attacks against cities and oil installations and a continuing offensive by government forces. The crisis that began in 2003 as a revolt against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and the government-controlled Janjaweed militia has since seen hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced.

For further news and analysis, see the All-Africa news service, www.all africa.com or the BBC (http://news. bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7871138.stm). For detailed background onDarfur, see the International Crisis Group’s report ( www.crisisgroup.org/home/index. cfm?id=3060&l= 1). For an extensive directory of online resources on Sudan and the Darfur crisis, go to Acade-micInfo ( www.academicinfo.net/hist africasudan.html).