Sudan says it opposes ICC’s involvement in Libya

May 17, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese government criticized the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to charge three Libyan officials with crimes against humanity they allegedly committed during the course of the uprising that erupted last February.

On Monday, the ICC prosecutor said at a press conference in the Hague that he asked judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and spy chief Abdullah al-Sanoosi on two counts of murder and persecution.

The judges will now have to decide on the prosecutor’s request. They can approve, deny or request further information on the application.

“The evidence shows that Muammar Gaddafi, personally, ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians. His forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in the public space, repressed demonstrations with live ammunition, used heavy artillery against participants in funeral processions, and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after the prayers.,” the prosecutor said.

The spokesperson of the Sudanese foreign ministry Khalid Moussa said in statements carried by state media that the ICC is a political body used to impose selective justice that targets African leaders.

Moussa stressed that achieving justice for the people of Libya should be done through internal mechanisms and not the Hague tribunal which he said turns a blind eye to violations in other parts of the world.

The Libyan rebels who are seeking to topple Gaddafi have hailed the move by the ICC but said that Gaddafi ought to be tried in Libya first.

“The National Transitional Council welcomes the decision of chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to request an arrest warrant,” the rebel administration’s vice president, Abdel Hafez Ghoga, said.

“We would like him to be tried in Libya first before being put on trial in an international court,” he added.

In late February, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously referred the situation in Libya to the ICC as it did with Darfur six years ago.

At the time the Libyan UN delegation, which has denounced Gaddafi, sent a letter to the UNSC president asking for an ICC referral which allows the court to investigate even if the country has not ratified the Rome Statute.

Libyan U.N. Ambassador Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said that his mission “supports the measures proposed in the draft resolution to hold to account those responsible for the armed attacks against the Libyan civilians, including through the International Criminal Court”.

At a briefing by the ICC prosecutor to the UNSC earlier this month, all countries on the council expressed support to his work including Arab and African members. Russia and China, the two countries that generally oppose intervention in affairs of other states, voiced similar sentiments.

Sudanese media including independent newspapers have largely ignored news of ICC pursuit of the Libyan leader. Khartoum is engaged in a row with the ICC particularly after the latter issued an arrest warrant in 2009 for president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir on ten counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

Sudan has managed to receive Arab and African backing against the ICC including from states that are members of the court. The African Union pushed by Gaddafi issued multiple resolutions instructing its members not to cooperate with the court in apprehending Bashir. However, not all countries adhered to this resolution.

The Sudanese government is faced with a dilemma of not wanting to be seen as supportive of the court but at the same time it has endorsed the establishment of a No-Fly Zone over Libya. Furthermore, diplomats told Reuters that Khartoum has quietly allowed the military coalition to use its airspace for that purpose.

Following the unrest in Libya which appeared to put Gaddafi closer to the end of his four decades rule, Sudanese officials have started accusing the Libyan leader of being the source of instability in their country in the past particularly with regard to the eight-years conflict in Darfur.

The Libyan government vowed to ignore the Hague tribunal.

“The ICC is not important for us. We are not part of the Rome statute. We will not show any attention to the decision,” Khalid Kaim, Libya’s deputy foreign minister told The Daily Telegraph.

“The practices of the ICC are questionable. It’s a baby of the European union designed for [prosecuting] African leaders.”

Kaim cited the continued liberty of Bashir, as an example of the ICC’s “impotence”, saying the veteran dictator was safe in Khartoum despite claims that he had played a direct role in the genocide in Darfur.

(ST)