Two Darfur rebel commanders appeared before the International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber in The Hague on June 17th, charged in connection with a deadly attack in 2007 on an African Union peacekeeping mission (AMIS) that killed 12 and wounded eight others in the village of Haskanita in Darfur.

By Tajeldin Adam

Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, former commander-in-chief of the Justice and Equality Movement and Saleh Mohammed Jarbo, former chief-of-staff of SLA-Unity, each face three counts of war crimes, including violence to life, targeting peacekeeping personnel and pillaging.

The same charges were brought by the prosecution against another rebel leader – Bahar Idriss Abu Garda - whose case was scrapped for lack of evidence in February. ICC prosecutors had requested a summons to appear for the three commanders in November 2008. Abu Garda was the first to appear but it took some time for Banda and Jarbo to come forward.

“I took up arms to seek justice. I decided to cooperate with the court because I know the court has duties to find out the truth. I call on every one who is accused by the court to come forward and clear their names,” Banda told the court.

The confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled to start on November 22nd and the prosecution faces a difficult task to persuade the judges to confirm the charges and move the case forward. In the Abu Garda case, judges ruled that the prosecution failed to provide adequate evidence to establish his involvement in the attack. The vital question now is, can the prosecution avoid another setback and proceed with the case?

Its success is not only important for the prosecution but also for the court. The collapse of Abu Garda’s case allowed the Sudanese government to brand the court “hypocritical” and the pre-trial sessions a “theatrical show.’’

It is no surprise to hear this kind of rhetoric from Khartoum which, from the very beginning, labeled the ICC a new tool of Western colonialism. But others are now starting to express their concern about the ability of the prosecution to support the claims brought against Banda and Jarbo.

Hafiz Mohamed of rights group Justice Africa also questions the motivation of the prosecution in bringing the case against the two commanders. “I think the assumption that the prosecutor has opened this case to show some balance between the warring sides in Darfur makes a bit of sense. It is clear that he was, to some extent, hasty in gathering evidence and scrutinizing it. It will be interesting to wait and see how it will proceed, but if we weigh it in the light of the evidence presented to the judges in Abu Garda’s situation, it is a weak case.’’

Nevertheless, even in the Abu Garda ruling, judges accepted that the Haskanita attack warranted the attention of the court, as it had consequences not only for AMIS personnel but also for the vulnerable local population who benefited from the presence of the mission.

And this is what matters for the prosecution: investigating the case and tracing the offenders. “Any talk about show of balance to silent critics and skeptics beyond the limit of the crime is mere political talk,” says Ali Agab of the Coalition for the ICC. “The court is not seeking and not keen to respond to such politically driven analysis. The court’s limit is to investigate the crime and compile evidence for the judges. What happened in Haskanita is a crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the court. The lack of evidence in Abu Garda’s case doesn’t bury the fact that a crime took place in Haskanita and claimed the life of innocent peacekeepers.”

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Darfur have welcomed Banda and Jarbo’s appearance before the court. “We want everyone who is wanted by the court for crimes to go to The Hague and face the charges. The African Union peacekeepers were there to help us and protect us. Any attack on them is an attack on us and our interest” says one IDP from Taweela camp, west of Alfashir.

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