AMMAN, Jordan, March 1 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 1:
Jordanian daily ad-Dustour commented Thursday on how the International Court of Justice absolved Serbia of genocide after 14 years of deliberations and soon after, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed charges against two Sudanese officials for war crimes in Darfur. The mass-circulation paper asked how one could understand the enthusiasm of the ICC prosecution against Sudanese officials who were investigated by the Khartoum government, "while we did not hear the voice of the prosecution in clear genocide cases committed against humanity, and continues, in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq." It stressed while it is not defending anyone involved in crimes against humanity, regardless of their national and religious identity, "it is our right to ask about this strange double standard" against the Arab and Muslim worlds. The paper, which describes itself as independent but is partially owned by the government, added in the commentary the international community constantly moves with "suspicious political agendas" and turns a blind eye to genocide committed by certain parties. It said it welcomed the "awakening of international justice for our people in Darfur...but we wish for this absent justice to also wake up to other catastrophes committed against us."
Egypt's al-Gomhuriya accused the U.S. administration of jumping on the opportunity of the ICC's charges filed against the two Sudanese officials to exert more pressure on Khartoum in order to divide the Arab African country. The semi-official daily said in its editorial it was absurd for Washington to urge the Khartoum government to respond to the ICC's demand to try the men on war crimes in Darfur. It opined it's ridiculous when the United States and its allies in Iraq "are now committing the ugliest crimes in killing children, raping women, assassinating civilians, destroying mosques and houses in the Arab country that has cost close to one million deaths and 2 million" refugees. The paper urged Washington to review its own policy that "spreads massacres and catastrophes in the region" before interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, "pretending sorrow and demands punishing those who harmed some of Darfur's tribes."
Lebanon's as-Safir said it was the second time, since the 9/11 attacks, that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney hides in a shelter when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a U.S. base in Afghanistan while he was on a visit there. It added in a commentary since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Cheney remained close to secure shelters and rarely appears for fear of his life and to remain the power behind President George W. Bush. The independent mass-circulation argued the vice president's office continues to be the real operation room managing the military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. "The man is the effective artery of the current administration and central decision-maker," it said. In Bagram, Afghanistan, Cheney heard the explosion outside the base and was quickly whisked away into a bunker where soldiers read out the statement of the Taliban claiming responsibility that he was the target, it said. "This was a confirmation that the war is still in the beginning stage," it commented.
The United Arab Emirates' al-Khaleej said while Israel is seeking to ask the United States for additional military assistance at the cost of $4.2 billion a year, U.S. reports indicate that more than 10 percent of Americans, or 37 million people, live below the poverty line. "The United States needs every cent to ease the level of poverty," the paper argued in its editorial. The pro-government daily stressed that many Americans might not know many Arabs are being killed by the "Zionist military might," as it tries to "swallow as much Arab land as possible. The U.S., it opined, wants to prevent any independent Arab economic, political or military action because it believes it is against U.S. interests. Nevertheless, it opined, the U.S. seems to have its priorities confused, as it wants to provide military assistance to Israel at the expense of helping the poor of America and the world. "And this assistance is a license to continue the (Israeli) aggression, not for self-defense," it said.
London-based ash-Sharq al-Awsat published a cartoon criticizing international silence over the wave of Israel's arrest of Palestinian activists in recent days. The cartoon in the Saudi-owned daily, titled "Israel's arrest campaign," shows two men from the back. One is a large man dressed in military fatigues with an arm band of the Israeli flag; he holds the arm of the second man. The second man, identified as "the international community," has his hands cuffed with a rope to his back and a black bag over his head as he is being led by the first.
