Editorial
No justice for victims of Somalia's war crimes
By
Jul 13, 2008 - 6:41:30 PM

SUNDAY EDITORIAL | Who remembers Somalia's long-suffering population?

This month's decision by the International Criminal Court to charge Sudanese President Omar al Bashir with war crimes in the western region of Darfur came as a surprise to many, including even opposition political parities in Sudan. From different corners, concern quickly grew about possible repercussions if the ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president.

There is no need to underestimate the human toll the Darfur conflict has taken. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced from their homes over the past five years. The Sudanese government is accused of directly aiding violent militias, or contributing soldiers and aircraft in the war against Darfur rebels. A government that is helping massacre its own citizenry is committing war crimes, undoubtedly.

But what remains most disturbing is the international community's strong desire to find a quick and acceptable solution to the Darfur conflict with much more intensity than the war that has been raging in Somalia nonstop for nearly two decades. Do Somalia's victims of war crimes warrant the attention of the ICC and other international arms of justice? Clearly, in comparing Somalia and Sudan, one can get the feeling that the ICC is more concerned with bringing down Sudan's national leader than arresting Somali war criminals so the Horn of Africa country can find peace once again.

In unfair world, Sudan gets more attention because of the country's strategic oil reserves and its key role in today's global economy. It is not that the world is more sympathetic to victims in Darfur, but that world powers are more interested in claiming a stake in future oil exports from the region.

Who remembers Somalia's long-suffering population? If the Somalis cannot remember each other for their own good, it would be naïve to expect the Americans, the Arabs or the Chinese to remember them at all.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com