Cover photo by Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin--Bashir greets supporters at protest
Sudan (MNN) ― The International Criminal Court is charging Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir with genocide.
The prosecutor at the Hague accused him of masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
The violence in Darfur has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and 2.5 million displaced since 2003.
It's a groundbreaking case because this filing is the first time prosecutors have issued charges against a current head of state at the global war crimes court.
Peter VanderMeulen, coordinator for Social Justice for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, says many agencies support the move.
However, efforts to arrest al Bashir could spark a violent response throughout the region. Already, thousands of protesters chanted anti-American slogans at a rally in Khartoum to protest.
There are many Christian aid groups working throughout the Darfur region and in other areas torn apart by civil war. Concern for their safety and freedom to work is building because of the association between the West and Christians.
"The initial reaction was very strong," VanderMeulen explains. "The statement in the United Nations by the Sudanese ambassador called Mr. (Luis Moreno) Ocampo a criminal. So it could get worse before it gets better. But at some point, I think a decision has to be made. Is the rule of international law a serious thing or is it not?"
Sudan's ruling party predicts more bloodshed in Darfur, and aid workers' safety could be compromised. VanderMeulen agrees that the international community must act.
Believers, especially, are called to prayer because "when you say, 'This has to happen because it's the right thing to do. It's the just thing to do. It's the loving thing to do,' when we say that as believers, the power of the Gospel is proclaimed all over the world, not just in Sudan."
