Laurent Gbagbo began his trial before the ICC today.
Looking a little forlorn, Gbagbo assured the court on the first day of the proceedings that he was being treated well, that the food was good if not great, and that he had enough blankets to keep warm in the often blustery Netherlands autumn.
When you read the dossier compiled against Gbagbo, what strikes you is the pedestrian nature of his so-called crimes. Was he a tyrant? Maybe, but certainly no worse than many tyrants the West continues to support today.
When he refused to slink willingly into the dustbin of history after the recent Ivory Coast elections, he wasn't doing anything that many who have come out on the short end of the democratic process have done.
Does Honduras ring a bell?
Unfortunately, his opponent had the support of the former colonial power.
And this is the problem with the ICC.
When you look at who is deemed prosecution-worthy and who isn't, it becomes obvious that the ICC is a tool of the colonial masters.
Its mission is nothing less than rolling back the last fifty years of history in the former colonies.
Gbagbo's real crime was annoying the former colonial masters, the same crime that cost President Zelaya his job in Honduras.
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