[I think this is the most important thing that I have to do in my life.] What about Bush and Blair? Why is there no action taken against both of them for killing innocent civilians in Iraq, Afghnistan and God knows where? The US is imposing on others while it is a liberty to do all sorts of atrocities at its whimps and fancies. Who gave the US the right to do so? Are the rest of the world a third class citizen of the world. I suppose Israel is first class, the US is second class and the rest of the world is third class.
THE LAST WORD
Rocking The Courtroom
The ICC prosecutor on his work, human rights and Sudan.
Published Mar 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Mar 30, 2009
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Luis Moreno-Ocampo doesn't have the name recognition of Angelina Jolie, but he's shared the stage with her, which makes him something of a rock star among prosecutors. In his six years on the International Criminal Court, the feisty Argentine lawyer has become its public face. He was a hero in the documentary "Darfur Now," appears regularly at the United Nations and makes appearances with Jolie and other celebrity activists. He's also become the unlikely target of criticism by humanitarian groups for his role in indicting Sudan's
President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes. Moreno-Ocampo, 56, sat down in New York with NEWSWEEK's Arlene Getz to discuss human rights, Sudan and whether an Obama-led America will join the court. Excerpts:
Getz: Bashir responded to the ICC's arrest warrant by expelling foreign-aid groups from Sudan. Did you expect that?
Moreno-Ocampo: We have evidence that he has been committing massive crimes since 2003. Expelling the aid groups was just another step.
Before the warrant was issued, though, these groups warned that it could backfire.
Let's be clear. Bashir committed the crimes, not the prosecutor. That is why the judge decided that an arrest warrant was necessary.
What about their argument that it would be better to have peace before justice?
I'm just the prosecutor. My role is to collect the facts and the evidence; that is what I did. If people don't know how to manage the facts, it's a challenge. But it's not my job to say how to do it. Bashir will keep committing the crimes, whatever we do. He is exterminating millions of people in front of the eyes of the international community. The court is not calling for armies to manage the country. It's a different way to manage global conflict.
How can you arrest Bashir?
Realistically he can be captured. Both [Yugoslavia's] Slobodan Milosevic and [Liberia's] Charles Taylor were in jail. Whether it takes two months or two years, the destiny of Omar Bashir is to face justice. The problem is how to stop the crimes today. Five thousand people are dying every month in the Darfur camps. This extermination is committed using hunger.
In December 2007, you tried to arrest another indicted Sudanese official, Ahmad Harun, by forcing down his plane. That failed when Harun was tipped off. Do you have a similar plan for Bashir?
We believe that as soon as Bashir travels in international airspace he could be arrested. We would try to organize that, yes. We did it once, we'd try to do it again. [But] the best option here is that the Sudanese government [arrests Bashir] itself. The Sudanese system has to find a way.
Does anyone in Sudan have the political will to do that?
Time develops systems.
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