“Sudan Arrests Militia Chief Facing Trial”

“Whilst my heart hopes that this is the start of a real, Sudanese-led, judicial process, my head tells me it’s yet another ploy by Khartoum to buy some time,” said James Smith, chief executive of Aegis Trust, an anti-genocide group. “This is not something for show,” he added. “This is part of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s commitment to bring a final and comprehensive solution to Darfur.” The Article “Sudan Arrests Militia Chief Facing Trial” that was published on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 shows us, the reader, that in Nairobi, Kenya, the Sudanese government has arrested one of the most wanted men in the nation, a notorious janjaweed militia leader charged by an international court with orchestrating mass murder in Darfur, which Sudanese officials disclosed on Monday. The move is widely being interpreted as a way for Sudan to improve its image abroad and try to head off the possible genocide prosecution of the nation’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in the International Criminal Court. The notorious janjaweed militia leader that was charged by an international court with orchestrating mass murder in Darfur was Ali Kushayb, also known as Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman and the “colonel of colonels”. The Sudanese government arrested the militia leader as result of the evidence that was produce by several Human rights groups. Mr. Ali Kushayb was charged with leading attacks on civilians and ordered villages to be burned to the ground and the women in them raped in the region of Darfur. This willingness of Sudanese government to arrest its own militia leaders is in contract with its willingness in the past. In 2007, the International Criminal Court charged Mr. Ali Kushayb with the same crimes against humanity and demanded that Sudan hand him over. However, Sudan refused, denying that he had done anything wrong and insisting that any criminals it did arrest would be handled in its own courts. But now with the nation of Sudan being under increasing pressure to curb the violence in Darfur and Mr. Bashir being pursued by international prosecutors, the government appears to have changed its tack. Mr. Kushayb is now in police custody.
My opinion of the Article “Sudan Arrests Militia Chief Facing Trial” is that the arrest of one of the most wanted men in the nation, a notorious janjaweed militia leader charged by an international court with orchestrating mass murder in Darfur, is just for show. My question for the Sudanese government is why has it taken so long for them to realize that the reports of several Human rights groups of Mr. Ali Kushayb leading attacks on civilians and ordered villages to be burned to the ground and the women in them raped in the region of Darfur were true? Also how long will the rest of world let the Sudanese government continue the first genocide of the 21st century on the citizens in regions like Darfur and South Sudan?

Article written by: Jeffrey Gettleman

The New York Times

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Article on page A9 of the New York edition.