Where Are They Now?: Omar al-Bashir
In 1989, Omar al-Bashir was serving in the Sudanese military. One bloodless coup and four years later, he was the self-appointed president of Sudan.
Bashir quickly achieved worldwide notoriety with his controversial hits, including “Darfuri Genocide” with his backup band, the Janjaweed – and who could forget “Those Humanitarians Ain’t Nothin’ But Thieves” and “This Sham Election is Totally For Real (As Long As You’re Voting For Me)”? He was awarded the honor of being the first-ever sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2009.
Where is Bashir now? Still holding on to the rock star dream, touring wherever he can get a gig. While a few outstanding ICC-member countries have promised to uphold their obligation to arrest him if he dares enter – many countries are still receiving him as a guest. In 2011 alone, Bashir has seen China, Malawi, Kenya, and Djibouti – all without repercussion.
With Omar al-Bashir, the question may not be “where is he?” but rather “who will stop him?”
