Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ocampo vs Bashir: the Chinese dilemma

The Chinese are worried about the ICC indictment of President Bashir, and rightly so . . .

The world had been blasting China over its relation with Khartoum because of the fighting and chaos in Darfur. China is seen as the stongest ally of Khartoum, supports it militarily and gets the bulk of the Sudanese oil. It is also complicated by the up coming olympic games in August.

Arguably, China wants to help Sudan, but also keep its friends in the West. It had waited afew days before making statements on the issue, a signed of the dilemma it finds itself in.

Even if the Chinese push for a Security Council vote to suspend the indictments, France and USA are sure to veto it. They also play tit for tat there. (China just vetoed a resolution against Zimbabwe!)

Whichever way it finally decides to act, Sudan risks losing its one friend and ally, and that will be the hardest thing to swallo in Khartoum

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