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Court seeks arrest of Sudan's president
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-15 08:41 The filing of genocide charges against Sudan's president at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is unfair and politically motivated, said a senior member of Sudan's ruling party Monday. The head of Sudan's Bar Association and ruling party stalwart, Fathi Khalil said Sudan was not a member of the International Criminal Court and not bound by the decision of prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. "The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court with his announcement demanding the arrest of President al-Bashir has proved that he is playing a political role, not a legal one," Khalil said.
Khalil said the decision came after international pressure on the court, undermining its reputation and independence. He said neither the ICC nor the security council have the right to refer a country that is not a member to the ICC to the court. Moreno-Ocampo asked the three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir to prevent the "slow deaths of some 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur and under attack from government-backed janjaweed militia". "Genocide is a crime of intention - we don't need to wait until these 2.5 million die," he said. The African Union Monday urged ICC to suspend Bashir's warrant. "We would like ICC to suspend its decision to seek al-Bashir's arrest for a moment until we sort out the primary problems in Darfur and southern Sudan," said Bernard Membe, Tanzania's minister for foreign affairs, speaking on behalf of African Union Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. The Sudanese Liberation Movement-Unity, which has been fighting the government in Darfur, has welcomed the move and even offered to help arrest al-Bashir. "The movement declares its commitment to cooperate fully with the ICC and are ready to carry out any tasks to arrest and extradite war criminals to the International Tribunal," the group's statement said. Thousands of protesters chanted anti-American slogans as they rallied in Khartoum on Sunday to protest against a potential arrest warrant, which Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat told the crowd would ignite his country. "This indictment may well shut off the last remaining hope for a peaceful settlement for the country," said Andrew Natsios, former US special envoy for Sudan. The ICC was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court. As well as Darfur, it is investigating Uganda, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo but has no police force and only has four suspects in custody. The Sudan case comes at a difficult time for the fledgling court after judges threw its first trial into doubt amid concerns a Congolese militia leader could be denied a fair trial as the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense. ICC judges issued arrest warrants for two Sudanese suspects last year - government minister Ahmed Haroun and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Khartoum refuses to hand them over. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Bashir on Saturday and stressed the independence of the ICC but also the need to manage the situation on the ground, expressing concern about any impact on the deployment of UN peacekeepers. Agencies |
