Darfur displaced say delighted by ICC decision
March 4, 2009 (NYALA) — Darfur displaced said they received with joy the decision of the ICC judges ordering the arrest of the Sudanese President for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Speaking from southern Darfur, Hussein Abu-Sharati, the spokesperson of Darfur displaced and refugees told Sudan Tribune that the different IDPs camps in Darfur were delighted after the issuance of the arrest warrant.
“This decision marks the end of violence and fears in Darfur camps after six year of harassment and terror,” said Abu Sharati who added that the arrest warrant provides them some feeling of security and protection. “Because there are some people who seek to help them after years of suffering.”
Abu Sharati said they would send a letter to the UN Secretary General and the ICC to express their gratitude for these institutions for their efforts to bring justice there.
He also pointed out they didn’t organize public demonstrations to celebrate the arrest warrant in order to protect the lives of the IDPs.
“We had reports that the government deployed an important number of militia and we preferred to not expose the IDPs to more violence.”
The IDPs had pledged in the past to organize a huge demonstration the day when the ICC issued its decision on Darfur crimes against the Sudanese President, who symbolizes years of oppression and war.
Some 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the eruption of a rebellion six years ago in Darfur, according to the United Nations. But Khartoum disputes the figure saying only 10,000 people have died.
The ICC‘s Pre-Trial Chamber 1 issued on Wednesday an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir charging him of war crimes and crimes against humanity excluding the charges of genocide.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo has requested an arrest warrant for President Omer Al-Bashir including three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The charges are connected to the conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003.
(ST)