Sudan offers to establish national war crimes court – WP

NEW YORK, Feb 9, 2005 (Dow Jones) — Sudan challenged a U.N. proposal to have the International Criminal Court try those accused of atrocities in Darfur, and it pledged to establish a national war crimes court to handle such cases, The Washington Post reports in its Wednesday edition.

“We believe the Sudanese legal system and judiciary are professional enough and able to do justice,” Sudanese First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha told reporters, the Post said.

Taha spoke after he and John Garang, leader of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army, met with the U.N. Security Council. The two appealed to the international community to forgive Sudan ‘s debt and to donate money and thousands of peacekeepers to help implement an agreement to end the country’s 22-year civil war.

Garang also urged the 15-nation council to exercise caution in pursuing war crimes prosecutions in Darfur before peace has been established, the Post reported.