Sudan communists urge govt to hand over Darfur suspects to ICC
March 5, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s opposition Communist Party urged the government to hand over to the International Criminal Court two officials suspected of war crimes in Darfur.
A statement by the Sudanese Communist Party said Monday the government should cooperate with the ICC by surrendering the two officials and providing legal defense for them.
The international court’s prosecution last week named Sudanese minister Ahmad Harun and suspected government-backed Janjaweed militia leader Ali Abdul Rahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, as suspects in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur in western Sudan.
The Sudanese government has vowed not to hand over the men or any other citizen for trial outside the country.
The communists said the naming of Sudanese officials was expected and the Khartoum government should have been legally and politically prepared, insisting the government bears full responsibility for the strife and escalation of the crisis in Darfur.
“We have repeatedly demanded an investigation into the crimes committed in Darfur and to punish the perpetrators inside or outside the country, but the government doesn’t listen to reason,” the leftist group said.
With this statement, the Communist Party has thus joined other major opposition Sudanese groups in supporting a call to hand over the two officials to the ICC for trial in The Hague.
(UPI)