News / Africa
Why has George Bush and Tony Blair not been dragged to ICC?
26 Oct 2016 at 13:06hrs | Views
The two war mongers
The Gambia has announced its withdrawal from the international criminal court, accusing the tribunal of the "persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".
The announcement late on Tuesday came after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to handle the world's worst crimes.
The Gambia has said that it pull of the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans.
Sheriff Bojang, the information minister, said in an announcement on state television that the court had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the west.
He singled out the case of the former British prime minister Tony Blair, whom the ICC decided not to indict over the Iraq war.
"There are many western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single western war criminal has been indicted," he said.
The withdrawal, he said, "is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called international criminal court, is in fact an international caucasian court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".
The Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the EU for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores. The decision will also come as a personal blow to the court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, a former Gambian justice minister.
Reacting to the announcement, Sainey Marenaha, a Gambian journalist based in Senegal, told the BBC Newsday programme:
"Most African heads of state feel that the court is only targeting them instead of Western leaders. People like [former President] George Bush of the United States and [former Prime Minister] Tony Blair of the UK were alleged to have committed hideous crimes and mass violation of human rights during the invasion of Iraq.
"So ordinary Africans will tell you: 'Hey! We feel that there is something suspicious about this court. We have never seen - in the 10 years' existence of the court - a single European leader tried for crimes against humanity.'"
The Gambia's decision to leave the war crimes court follows that of South Africa and Burundi earlier this month.
The announcement late on Tuesday came after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to handle the world's worst crimes.
The Gambia has said that it pull of the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans.
Sheriff Bojang, the information minister, said in an announcement on state television that the court had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the west.
He singled out the case of the former British prime minister Tony Blair, whom the ICC decided not to indict over the Iraq war.
"There are many western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single western war criminal has been indicted," he said.
The Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the EU for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores. The decision will also come as a personal blow to the court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, a former Gambian justice minister.
Reacting to the announcement, Sainey Marenaha, a Gambian journalist based in Senegal, told the BBC Newsday programme:
"Most African heads of state feel that the court is only targeting them instead of Western leaders. People like [former President] George Bush of the United States and [former Prime Minister] Tony Blair of the UK were alleged to have committed hideous crimes and mass violation of human rights during the invasion of Iraq.
"So ordinary Africans will tell you: 'Hey! We feel that there is something suspicious about this court. We have never seen - in the 10 years' existence of the court - a single European leader tried for crimes against humanity.'"
The Gambia's decision to leave the war crimes court follows that of South Africa and Burundi earlier this month.
Source - BBC
