Despite the fact that there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest, Egypt welcomed Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, with open arms Wednesday. According to the charter of the International Criminal Court, which issued the warrant, any member is required to execute a warrant if the target sets foot in their country. Obviously, Egypt has not done that. The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, made a statement saying that not only Egypt, but also the Arab and African communities reject the way the ICC has handled the situation in Darfur. The human rights group Amnesty International responded in turn by condemning the actions of Egypt and called for the arrest of Bashir. Shortly after the announcement was made the warrant had been issued, Bashir and the Sudanese government made the decision to expel 13 foreign aid organizations and the dissolve 3 local organizations. Violence has actually increased in the Darfur region since the announcement. Similarly, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number 2 of Al Qaeda, released of video claiming that the crisis in Sudan has been manufactured by the West in order to take over another Islamic land.

Last month, Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan dictator, was elected as the chairman of the African Union. This is a big step for Qaddafi and Libya who were formerly known for sponsoring terrorists and killing civilians. After Qaddafi agreed to give up on nuclear weapons, Libya’s relationship with the West has seen vast improvement. However, the Qaddafi has recently made statements blaming Israel for the crisis in Sudan and defending Somali pirates. Not only has he recently reverted back to his usual outlandish statements, but also the quality of life for Libyan citizens has barely seen any improvement. Freedom of speech and religion is still restricted throughout the country, and, although Libya has a wealth of oil, the citizens very rarely reap its reward. Also, many illegal immigrants have begun to pour into Libya hoping for a better life. They are treated horribly and are called “animals and slaves”. The situation is getting out of control and the Libyan citizens are largely unhappy with the amount of immigrants, which fuels the abuse.

A senior U.S. official, Stephen Blake, recently made a trip to Myanmar in order to discuss U.S. policy towards that country with its leaders. Blake, a diplomat from the State Department, met with the foreign minister and a few other officials, but did not meet with the leader of the military junta, Than Shwe. Shwe is known for being reclusive and rarely meets with anyone. The junta lost an election in 1990 but has refused to acknowledge the results and has fueled anger throughout the world. The U.S. has multiple sanctions on the country, and still refers to the country as Burma, a sign that it does not recognize the junta. Myanmar is known for its brutal human rights abuses, most recently in 2007 with the violent crackdown on Buddhist monks. According to the article, the regime has pledged to hold free and fair democratic elections by 2010. This is the first visit by a senior U.S. official to the new capital, Naypyidaw.

It bothers me that Egypt so openly taunts the ICC and other Western powers by refusing to arrest Omar al-Bashir. There is no doubt that the government of Sudan has committed atrocities and the ICC has done its research to pinpoint their architect. The members of the ICC have a commitment to uphold its charter, yet Egypt completely disregards it. They might disagree with the warrant, but they should not be so crude as to invite Bashir to a formal meeting and publicly denounce the organization of which it is a member.

I am happy for the progress that Libya has made since its years of sponsoring terrorism, but the U.S. and the rest of the world still needs to be wary of Qaddafi. He has shown time and again that he is unpredictable, and this relative peace may not last long. Not to mention, the country is still ranked among the worst in the world for human rights abuses and shows no signs of improvement. It may be one of the most stable African countries, but it still needs to make progress. Lest the world forget that Qaddafi is still an oppressive dictator and, at one point in time, openly sent his agents to kill civilians.

Finally, it is good news that the Burmese are willing to meet with American officials, especially in the new capital, but, again, the government must be wary. The junta has made no real steps toward democracy, but still insists that it will hold elections in 2010. If the crackdown in 2007 is any indication, I’d say that free and fair elections are not likely.