AU Summit Rejects ICC Campaign Against Sudan

July 4 (EIRNS)—The African Union yesterday made a consensus agreement not to cooperate with the so-called International Criminal Court (ICC) to extradite Sudan President Hassan al-Bashir to The Hague to face charges leveled against him by that private imperial institution. The AU decision was taken at its yearly head-of-state summit, held this year in Libya.

The summit communiqué declared that AU members shall not cooperate with the ICC "in the arrest and transfer of the president of Sudan to the ICC." The communiqué also "expresses its preoccupation about the behavior of the ICC prosecutor" Luis Moreno Ocampo. Under his leadership, the ICC has launched investigations into four cases since its creation seven years ago—all of them in Africa.

Jean Ping, chair of the Commission of the African Union, voiced Africa's frustration with the failure of the UN Security Council to consider a request to suspend the warrant against Bashir for a year. Although the ICC is not a UN institution, the UN Security Council was given the capability to defer cases for a year, as a way of making the ICC palatable to enough nations for it to appear credible. Such a UNSC suspension is renewable. Ping said: "They [African nations] are showing to the world community that if you don't want to listen to the continent, if you don't want to take into account our proposals, ... if you don't want to listen to the continent, as usual, we also are going to act unilaterally."

Sudan Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig welcomed the AU decision, saying that now Bashir "is free to travel anywhere in Africa, including those countries that have ratified the ICC's Rome statute." He added: "We think that Africa is now one front against the ICC.... Most Africans believe it is a court that has been set up against Africa and the third world. [The African Union decision] makes us feel that we are not alone, that people are supporting us."

The decision was denounced by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, both of which are institutions formed by the London-based imperial financial cartel. "By supporting a wanted person accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, it undermines the credibility of states who are party to the Rome Statute and the AU as a whole," complained Amnesty International. Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, a high-level Brutish operative who played a key role in setting up the ICC, along with George Soros, was at the site of the summit.

Colonials Are Back in Africa Grabbing Land

June 24 (EIRNS)—Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Emirates have swooped down on Africa, using their oil revenue and ill-gotten "offshore" money to buy up land, so as to ensure food for their own kingdoms. This could lead to mass starvation in the food-short continent of Africa. While a few other nations are also leasing land in Africa, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Emirates dominate. All the leasing is being done by private companies of those countries.

Here is an abridged list of the land grabbing that is in progress.

Angola: The UK-based Lonrho corporation leased 25,000 hectares for rice.

Egypt: Saudi Arabia's Jenat company secured 10,000 hectares for barley, wheat, and livestock feed; Dubai World Trading Co. secured 5,000 hectares for tea in a joint venture with East Africa agribusiness; Britain's Sun Biofuels secured land for jatropha, a biofuel crop; Saudi investors leased land in exchange for $100 million in investment.

Kenya: Qatar leased 20,000 hectares for fruit and vegetable cultivation in exchange for funding a $2.3 billion port.

Sudan: Kuwait secured a giant strategic partnership; Qatar set up a joint holding company to invest in agriculture; Saudi Arabia leased 10,000 hectares for wheat, vegetables, and livestock; South Korea secured 690,000 hectares for wheat; the United Arab Emirates is investing in 378,000 hectares after already securing 30,000 for corn, alfalfa, and possibly wheat, potatoes, and beans.

Tanzania: Saudi Arabia wants to lease 500,000 hectares; CAMS Group of Britain purchased 45,000 hectares for sweet sorghum, a biofuel crop; Sun Biofuels of Britain secured 5,500 hectares for jatropha.