Sudan adamant on Darfur ‘atrocities’ suspects
June 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan insisted on Saturday that it would not succumb to pressure and arrest two officials accused by the International Criminal Court of atrocities in the troubled region of Darfur.
“The position of the government concerning persons sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is clear and there is no room for bargaining on this subject,” Presidential Assistant Nafaa Ali Nafaa told the pro-ruling party SMC news service.
He said Sudan stands by the position announced by President Omar al-Beshir, which is to refuse to hand over Ahmed Haroun, the secretary of state for humanitarian affairs, and pro-government Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib.
Khartoum sees the international pressure to hand over the suspects as part of a “hostile campaign” by the West to get it to accept a robust peacekeeping force in Darfur, Nafaa said.
Sudan has grudgingly accepted a UN force in Darfur though the troops’ mandate is still under discussion.
The proposal is for the deployment of a 23,000-strong peace-keeping force to replace the current 7,000 African Union soldiers in the region.
The UN wants its own command system but Sudan wants the force to be under African control.
The question is to be addressed during a meeting that will group Sudan, the African Union, and the United Nations in Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday.
Nafaa’s statements followed a call on Friday by the Group of Eight powers for action against “the perpetrators of atrocities” in Darfur and a commitment to back UN action against the Sudanese government and rebel groups if the conflict is not ended.
International pressure is mounting on Sudan to allow the deployment of the UN force to bolster AU troops, and the G8 countries urged Khartoum to back the force.
On Thursday, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo urged the UN Security Council to press Khartoum to hand over the two suspects.
In February, Moreno-Ocampo accused Haroun and Kosheib of 51 crimes against humanity and war crimes — including murder, torture and mass rape.
Khartoum has since consistently insisted that its judiciary was fully competent to handle the cases, rejecting the legitimacy of any foreign court to try Sudanese nationals.
Interior Minister Zubeir Beshir Taha lashed out at Moreno-Ocampo, telling reporters that if the ICC prosecutor were in search of justice, he should focus on “those who committed war crimes in Guantanamo, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.”
“I tell the whole world that Haroun and Kosheib are in safe hands and are not at all worried,” he added.
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which then enlisted the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.
According to UN figures, more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced in four years of conflict in Darfur which the United States has called a “genocide.”
Sudan says that only some 9,000 people have died.
(AFP)