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Justice or Peace First in Sudan?

So the International criminal court issued a warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  It didn't proceed on the charge of genocide. The indictment was issued despite concern that it would jeopardise the peacemaking process there,  and the now justified concern that it would hinder the work of aid agencies in Darfur.  The Times said it this way on Wednesday:  ICC issues war crimes arrest warrant for President al-Bashir of Sudan

The International Criminal Courtspress release on the indictment is here: ICC issues a warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan

Justifying the expulsion of 13 aid agencies (Oxfam, MSF, etc) the Sudanese ambassador to the UN claimed Ousted aid groups were 'spoiling' country.

That office said 85 nongovernment organizations are working in Darfur, but the agencies whose work has been suspended -- including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and Mercy Corps -- account for more than half the aid delivered.  The United Nations also estimates that at least 1.1 million people will be left without food, 1.5 million without health care, and 1 million without drinkable water as a result of the Sudanese government's decision.  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Thursday that Sudan's decision will cause "irrevocable damage" to the aid operations in Darfur. At least 4.7 million people in Darfur rely on aid, he said.

South Africa's disputed land

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Crossing Continents | South Africa's disputed land.

... Bernhard Mojapelo is university educated, with a good job in the city. But his main passion in life is for a vast stretch of barren rural scrubland. Thanks to South Africa's land reform, he and his tribe have been able to lodge a claim for it. "Land is a source of life," Bernhard says. "When we were dispossessed and driven away from the land we felt shame and our children looked down on us. Land reform is a victory for us Africans in terms of social prestige and dignity."

Yet land reform seems to be failing in many cases. How can S Africa avoid the disaster of Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwean generals 'have taken Robert Mugabe's power'

This report in the Telgraph makes a lot of sense of the Zimbabwe situation. It also makes the whole thing a lot more worrying.

Zimbabwean generals 'have taken Robert Mugabe's power'.

It raises the question, what hope is there for Morgan Tsvangerai in the elctions at the end of this month. Our only hope can be that that the nations around Zimbabwe will 'peacefully' intervene; hopefully with the support ofa lrge number of the population.

Meanwhile the Anglican Bishops of the Botswana, Malawi, Zabia and Zimbabwe have issued a Pastoral Message: On the Crisis in Zimbabwe: “I Have Heard The Cry of My People”. They deny that there is anything culturally "African" about the widespread murder, destruction and inhumanity, and say it is demonstrably un-Zimbabwean:

The reports that people are being maimed, killed, and denied decent burials, paints a contrary picture to our African understanding of Ubuntu. All these point out to the leadership of these perpetrators that they have lost a sense of nationhood.

This is their prayer:

Lord, you asked for my hands that you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice.
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life that you might work through me.
I gave a small part that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you
Only when it is convenient for me to do so,
Only in those places where it is safe to do so,
And only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me, renew me
Send me out as a usable instrument
That I might take seriously the meaning of your cross.

Have Mugabe's Foes Turned the Tide?

Finally there seems a glimmer of hope in Zimbabwe. But will that glimmer be only enough to illumine the atrocities of a man and his party clinging to power.

Have Mugabe's Foes Turned the Tide? - TIME

We can only pray, especially for grace and wisdom for Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his party to know how to ease the way for Mugabe, his Zanu faithful and the many who have done reasonably well under them. How we need to learn that the triumphalism that easily accompanies such a longed for moment can reinforce the loss and therefore the grievance of those losing power. As I wrote four weeks ago ( Praying for the Peace of Zimbabwe ) may may justice, mercy, truth and peace all have their day.

Pray for Zimbabwe

As we read that the US ( Mugabe trying to steal election, says U.S. official )  and South African new ANC President ( Zimbabwe crisis at critical level, warns Zuma  join UK's Gordon Brown in condemning the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe, there is a new report from Zimbabwe's churches on the state of the nation.

A report by the churches in Zimbabwe  with a call for intervention. It concludes:

"... We urge you to refuse to be used for a political party or other people’s selfish end especially where it concerns violence against other people, including those who hold different views from your own. It was the Lord Jesus who said, 'Whatever you do to one of these little ones, you do it unto me' (Matthew 25:45). We call on all Zimbabweans and on all friends of Zimbabwe to continue to pray for our beautiful nation. As the shepherds of God’s flock, we shall continue to speak on behalf of Zimbabwe’s suffering masses and we pray that God’s will be done."

The BBC has a report Church call for Zimbabwe action   with a short video of Archbishop Rowan Williams and a link to a longer interview with Archbishop John Sentamu. Both speak of potential meltdown of society. Notethat Sentamu is still not wearing his clerical dog collar - he cut it up last year in protest at Mugabe and stated he would not wear it until he was out of office.

Churches worldwide have been called to pray for Zimbabwe on Sunday

Mugabe Denounces 'Neo-Colonial' UK

Mugabe Denounces 'Neo-Colonial' UK in Time

Defiant Robert Mugabe says Britain is trying to 'steal our country'  in the Times

Zimbabwe: 'Zim Not for Sale'  on AllAfrica.com

"He said the United Kingdom had no moral authority to preach to Zimbabwe about democracy as the Zimbabweans fought the former coloniser in order to bring about such democracy."

We may hate what is going on in Zimbabwe. I do. But sadly I believe we must at least hear Robert Mugabe. The history is complex. But below the history is a moral foundation, that colonisation was wrong and that the offence of colonialism still seems to have power.  Where the ties of colonialism are still being fought twenty seven years after Independence, and the threat of neo-colonialism is being raised, this must be more than just the (very obvious) rhetoric of a tyrant.

We still owe this nation an apology.

Praying for the Peace of Zimbabwe

“Truth and mercy have met together; justice and peace have kissed.” Psalm 85.10 (NIV)

As Zimbabwe's future stands at this point of decision may justice, mercy, truth and peace all be present.

Zimbabwe's rivals neck and neck

Zimbabwe in Suspense: Is Mugabe Done?

Robert Mugabe 'negotiating with Zimbabwe opposition about exit'

Kenya: histories of hidden war

In OpenDemocracy French scholar Gerard Prunier pulls apart the myth of Kenya as Africa's model nation and how we have managed to deceive ourselves and in the process jeopardised the nation's welfare.

Kenya has for many years been a favourite tourist destination, at least partly because it is the natural locus of white fantasies about Africa. All the elements are there: spectacular landscapes, teeming wildlife, "picturesque" natives, colonial kitsch, Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa and Walt Disney's The Lion King. But there is also a sinister side: memories of Mau-Mau insurgency, the arrogant settlers of White Mischief, Bruce Berman's Unhappy Valley, Robert Ruark's novels, runaway crime - and today this, violence in paradise. ....

Kenya: histories of hidden war | openDemocracy.

Can Kenya Avert a Bloodbath? - TIME

Kenya is a picture we must heed of the fragility of peace, or maybe that the appearance of peace is no indicator of the reality of peace in an unjust world.

Link: Can Kenya Avert a Bloodbath? - TIME.

The Demons That Still Haunt Africa

Time reflects on the wider ramifications of the orgy of violence in Africa.

Link: The Demons That Still Haunt Africa - TIME.

... Whether Kenya can be pulled back from the brink will reveal much about Africa's future. The nation embodies the best and worst of the continent--its vitality and economic potential but also its poverty, corruption and tribalism. So long as those conditions persist, crises like the one afflicting Kenya will continue to haunt Africa, stunting its growth and hurting its people. The outcome in Kenya may well determine whether Africa's renaissance sustains itself--or turns into another nightmare. ...