Sudan rejects French proposal to extradite Darfur suspects
August 6, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government formally rejected a French proposal to hand over two Darfur war crimes suspects wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a diplomat said today.
“The government did not discuss the French proposal in length” he said.
But Alor said at the time that Sudan must take the proposals seriously.
“In my assessment, these proposals are good” he said. Alor also pointed out that to end the crisis; the government needs to provide certain things and they submitted specific ideas about that.
The judges of the ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Haroun and Kushayb on 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.
The ICC’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. Judges are expected to take months to study the evidence before deciding whether to order Al-Bashir’s arrest.
The announcement drew condemnation from the African Union (AU), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) called for invoking Article 16 which allows the UN Security Council to suspend the ICC prosecutions in any case for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.
But the calls got a cool reception from the Western countries at the UNSC.
“The UNSC should not interfere with the due process of law in terms of letting the ICC do its work” the French Ambassador to the UN Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters last month.
“We remind the authorities in Khartoum that they have some obligations and commitments vis-à-vis the UNSC which repeatedly asked for their cooperation with the ICC and it is not too late for them to cooperate” he added.
Ripert’s remarks were taken as a hint that for the UNSC to consider deferring Al-Bashir’s indictment they must cooperate with the ICC and hand over Haroun and Kushayb.
But the Sudanese official said his government “has no faith in international pledges which were made in similar cases before.”
He said that the international community “did not honor its promises to the former Liberian president Charles Taylor who stepped down at the world’s request and Radovan Karadzic who was promised by a US official to escape trial but was sent to The Hague after 13 years”.
The official also reiterated Sudan’s position not to hand over any of its citizens to stand trial abroad.
Khartoum announced this week the appointment of a special prosecutor for Darfur crimes and said they will incorporate some of the internationally recognized crimes into the Sudanese penal code.
However some Sudanese lawyers speaking to Reuters dismissed the move describing it as an attempt to “offset the ICC indictment but it would not work”.
Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UNSC triggered the provisions under the Statue that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.
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Deng Akol Agut-tungdoun
BREAKING NEWS: Sudan rejects French proposal to extradite Darfur suspects
All these nonses will not work!.
It is already too late for Khartoum to form a committee to investigate all the crime cases commited in Durfar therefore, I personally don’t any good reason as to why Khartoum rejected the wise French proposal!.
It not gonig to take long for Khartoum to regrated this decision whit it has taken from today.
Big reasoning is the only way forwards in this ICC issue. I do beleif that is a cancer which Kartoum is not going to survives.
Think big a bout it and be bless.
Deng Akol Agut-tungduon, a man far away from tribalism.
Daniel Kalaka
BREAKING NEWS: Sudan rejects French proposal to extradite Darfur suspects
The toothless dog alway know’s only to back without bitting ,there are several proposal been given to Khartoum Government in favor of bring peace to war torn region of darfur but president bashir pays deaf ear to it and later on coming to accept the deision to form the investigation team what kind of mess is that, and bold saying his regime is doing quite enough to bring peace in region yet case of janjaweed been raising how bullshit ! Please remember what had happen to osman bin laden’s driver when he has been captured ********* that i am only to fulfil my ambation and sastifactories but not terrorist action issue against innocent people .Nontheless,it’s too late to do that in short time while fire as been set better compromise and search for reconsile is better.
For the lost brother whoever call himself Omar the king or the looter alway talking of southerns to follow his footstep and joining him to kiss floor in the mosque please if you don’t have anything to say better keep quite then wasting time with this rubbish business of your we are not kids in politics .Just watch out care whether this useless decision of your is going to worker but for your point of information there is no fire without smooke Bashir like or not ICC decision no one can attempt at this stage *********