ICC move will hinder peace efforts in Darfur – Sudanese President
October 2, 2008 (ACCRA) — Sudanese President termed as “political” the charges of genocide and war crimes filled against him by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal (ICC). He further said it will hinder efforts to settle Darfur conflict peacefully.
On July 14, the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir. The prosecutor filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder.
The outgoing chairman of the ACP bloc told the summit that Ocampo’s “unprecedented step is an impediment to the peace process and comprehensive reconciliation in Sudan while it enters its final stages. It also hampers peace negotiations to settle Darfur crisis”
He further said that the move sends a negative signal to Darfur rebel movements and encourages them to not negotiate with the government.
Also he said that a possible indictment would threaten the run of general elections in the country next year and the democratic transition. Adding it “will have tragic consequences not only on Sudan, but all countries in this part of the African continent.”
Bashir stigmatized the ICC prosecutor’s efforts for justice in Darfur crimes, saying Ocampo’s move was politically motivated and “not for humanitarian or legal reasons.” He further urged the 79 member states “to not allow the instrumentalization of international justice to achieve political ends.”
However, the Sudanese president reaffirmed his “commitment to implement the signed peace agreements and to settle Darfur conflict through negotiations.
The Sudanese government welcomed an Arab initiative to hold peace talks in Qatar in cooperation with the African Union and the United Nations. The initiative is still under preparations but Darfur rebels remain sceptical and asked for more details.
The ACP foreign ministers renewed yesterday their support to the Sudanese President against his indictment by the ICC Prosecutor. The bloc had already last July rejected any move to sue him over Darfur crimes.
U.N. experts estimate that more than five years of fighting in Darfur have already killed 300,000 people and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes, prompting the world’s largest humanitarian operation. However Khartoum says less than 10,000 have died.
(ST)