It’s been a week since Omar al-Bashir’s arrest warrant was announced. The decision was trumpeted by human rights activists but Sudan’s president remains in power, the war in Darfur continues, and 13 aid agencies providing a vital lifeline have now been kicked out.
So, what happens next? Good question.
Over at Opiniojuris, Kevin Jon Heller is getting angry with those who criticise other people’s ideas without offering any real solutions themselves. Taking aim at Michael Kleinman, who had the temerity to criticise the New York Times’ Nick Kristof without offering any thoughts of his own, Heller writes:
“…if he doesn’t believe that doing nothing is enough… I think it behooves him to (1) tell us what actions the international community should take instead of pursuing Bashir’s arrest, and (2) explain to us why those actions will be more likely to influence Bashir’s behavior.”
Michelle, the Stop Genocide blogger, also weighs in:
“You either shoot down or disregard every option presented without coming up with an alternative of your own”
I don’t see a problem with that. This is an unprecedented situation. I’m not the least bit surprised that no-one has so far come up with a good idea. It’s quite possible that no-one will.
Pretty much everything suggested so far seems to end up with lots of people dead. I don’t see what’s wrong with pointing that out.
As a journalist, I have to say that people sniping from the sidelines is completely intolerable. Don’t these people know that’s my job?