Ozone is a quiet place these days. Ever since the US embassy in Khartoum warned its citizens to avoid places where expats tended to gather there have been fewer white faces here at the world’s best coffeeshop on a roundabout. Ozone is a particular target apparently.
People are on tenterhooks waiting for the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al Bashir. Will the government kick out NGOs? Will it make life more difficult for the UN? Will there be anti-Western demos?
No-one really knows. There seems to be a degree of embarrassment that the international contingent overreacted last July, when the ICC prosecutor presented his evidence to the judges. Non-essential staff were brought back from Darfur, dependents sent home and anyone with a hatch battened it down. In the end precious little happened. The government tested the water with a few unsourced or arm’s length comments and that was that. So this time everyone is talking about “business as usual” and wondering when the indictments will come. Staff at the US embassy have a sweepstake running on the date.
In the meantime, Ozone is quiet and the chocolate croissants remain sublime.

Ozone is a quiet place these days. Ever since the US embassy in Khartoum warned its citizens to avoid places where expats tended to gather there have been fewer white faces here at the world’s best coffeeshop on a roundabout. Ozone is a particular target apparently.
People are on tenterhooks waiting for the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al Bashir. Will the government kick out NGOs? Will it make life more difficult for the UN? Will there be anti-Western demos?
No-one really knows. There seems to be a degree of embarrassment that the international contingent overreacted last July, when the ICC prosecutor presented his evidence to the judges. Non-essential staff were brought back from Darfur, dependents sent home and anyone with a hatch battened it down. In the end precious little happened. The government tested the water with a few unsourced or arm’s length comments and that was that. So this time everyone is talking about “business as usual” and wondering when the indictments will come. Staff at the US embassy have a sweepstake running on the date.
In the meantime, Ozone is quiet and the chocolate croissants remain sublime.

The old timers will tell you it’s not how it was, but there’s still a special spirit among foreign correspondents. The new arrivals from London don’t always get it at first but they usually fall into line eventually. The point is that exclusives are few and far between and they will anyway end up on page 43. So why stitch up your colleagues? Being part of a team and sharing info is more effective than being a one-man band, constantly trying to throw everyone else off the scent of your story. More often than not the one-man band misses out on the big trip or the quiet briefing because everyone knows that what comes around, goes around.
Anyway, I’m waxing slightly lyrical because at the moment my underwear is hanging in AFP’s sitting room, while I use her high-speed internet and borrow her office float for tomorrow’s trip to Darfur. In return I can offer as much Ozone ice cream as she can eat, a neverending supply of bad jokes, and the understanding that she is welcome at African Safari’s ill-equipped bureau in Nairobi any time she wants.

Yes carrot cake for breakfast. I’ll be bringing you an update on the impact of Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s evidence against President Bashir as soon as I have the faintest idea what’s going on. It’s fair to say that reaction here is mixed.