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Court indictment of Sudan leader 'worrying'

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-07-16 10:59

China expressed "grave concern and worry" on Tuesday after the International Criminal Court's prosecutor charged Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashirfor "genocide and war crimes" in Darfur.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao urged the international community to exercise prudence and help stabilize the Darfur regions, while not complicating the conditions there.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday asked the ICC for an arrest warrant for Bashir, accusing him of running a campaign of genocide that has killed 35,000 people inSudan's western region.

A supporter of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir demonstrates against the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Bashir in Khartoum, July 15, 2008.[Agencies]

Sudan's vice president, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, called the ICC's move "irresponsible, illegal and unprofessional."

"China expresses grave concern and worry about the International Criminal Court prosecutor's indictment of the Sudanese leader," spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular news conference in Beijing.

"The ICC's actions must be beneficial to the stability of the Darfur region and the appropriate settlement of the issue, not the contrary," Liu said.

The United States government also said the cooperation of Khartoum was important to bring peace to Darfur. In Washington, President George W. Bush said that Bashir's cooperation was necessary to ensure that more UN and African Union forces were sent to Darfur.

Related readings:  Sudan warns ICC indictment could ruin Darfur peace  Arab bodies, Sudan slam ICC allegation against Sudanese president  Court seeks arrest of Sudan's president

"The United Nations needs to work with this current government to get those troops in to help save lives, an AU-UN hybrid force," he said, referring to the joint mission that took over peacekeeping in Darfur in January under a plan to deploy a total of 20,000 soldiers and 6,000 police.

In Pretoria, South Africa's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad suggested that Bashir could not be arrested for genocide, and argued that trying to seize him might endanger efforts to bring peace toDarfur.

The Arab world, too, has reacted sharply to Al-Bashir's indictment. An Arab League envoy said in Cairo that the ICC action was a serious blow to peace efforts inDarfur.

Egyptian diplomat Salah Halima said the move would have a negative impact on the region's stability and that the ICC prosecutor had overstepped his jurisdiction.

Sudan is not a member of the Netherlands-based ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.

However, some Western countries have called for respecting ICC's decisions.

"We are committed to cooperating with the international court and we should strengthen its work by not criticizing it," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

In Khartoum, thousands of Sudanese rallied outside a UN office in the Sudanese capital, some on horses, in support of Bashir. They chanted "Ocampo is a criminal."

The protests, which began on Sunday, have been staged by pro-government bodies but even Sudanese who traditionally oppose Bashir have backed him against Hague-based ICC.

Sudan has reassured international workers it will ensure their safety, but the United Nations raised security levels in Khartoum and Darfur, fearing a violent backlash.