Mixed Feelings about Pres. Bashir's Indictment

Before reading these articles and watching the videos, I knew nothing about the Sudanese Civil War, or the state of the country in general. What seems clear, is the majority of countries believe Bashir to be guilty of crimes in Darfur, while the Sudanese people in general respect and support their leader. It seems to me that both sides are bringing historical baggage into play. The accusers must be influenced by the fact that Bashir gained his power by overthrowing a Democtratic government. Bashir and other members of his government are comparing the accusation to the "same Euro-American justice that destroyed Iraq, Afghanistan, and most recently Gaza" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/world/africa/06sudan.html?_r=1). Also, Bashir accuses the international community of a modern day colonialism. Building on these past events, the 'Euro-American justice' must look twisted to the Sudanese people. We must also keep in mind that Bashir recently ended a 25 year Civil War that killed over 2 million people.

When just reading the articles, I did not understand the extent to which he is supported by the citizens. Watching the video from the New York Times article made a big difference though. Hearing the urgency and resolve in the voice of citizens worrying about their country changed my feeling about this indictment. They are concerned that a quick removal of Bashir would result in many more deaths, and a change of government. Taking into account past motivations, I wonder if this indictment is more about a desire to change the government in Sudan and less about the death and suffering of the people in Darfur.

However, I really don't know. The type of access we have to these events is very limited and almost always through an American run source. We are probably missing a lot of information. It surely seems that Bashir and his government have done some horrible things and may well deserve international judgement; I am just unsure that this is the best time to act. The country seems too unstable to withstand something like this.

The last thing that jumped out at me was a question posed in the New York Times article: Will Bashir's support in Sudan make a difference? It seems that the international community may be ignoring the voice of the people that they are trying to protect.