The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

against a head of state, may constitute a turning point. Last July, after three years of inves- tigation, 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 of- fice of the U.N. Office for the Coordi- nation 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 categori- cally rejected the charges and made clear that he has no intention of bow- ing to international pressure. The Sudanese president is also tak- ing advantage of the fact that the ICC’s actions are as vexing for the U.N. Se- curity Council as they are for him. Among council members holding a veto, only France and Britain unequiv- ocally 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 desig- nated the Arab-dominated Sudanese government’s actions against the Fur and other African tribes in Darfur as genocide, nonetheless remains reluc- tant 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 offen- sive by government forces. The crisis that began in 2003 as a revolt against the Arab-dominated Sudanese govern- ment and the government-controlled Janjaweed militia has since seen hun- dreds 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 ). This edition of Cybernotes was com- piled by Senior Editor Susan B. Maitra. 12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 9 C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... E arly 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 effi- ciency of many a post are directly affected by the sincerity and smooth- ness of this relationship. — Editorial: “Essential Continuity and the FSL,” FSJ , March 1959