ICC asks for arrest warrant against Sudanese president
First sitting head of the country to be indicted: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arriving at the airport in Dakar in this file photo. International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo (inset) yesterday formally called for the arrest of Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and warcrimes in Darfur. Picture: AFP
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Prosecutor says Bashir's forces kill 35,000
THE International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor yesterday charged Sudan's president with genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur in a move Khartoum warns could set fire to the region.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by an international court since Liberia's Charles Taylor and before that Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic.
"Moreno-Ocampo has presented evidence today showing that... Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur," the prosecutor said in a statement.
Fearing an upsurge in violence from an enraged Bashir and emboldened rebels in Darfur, aid organisations have tightened security in Sudan in recent days.
Khartoum, which is not a party to the court, said it did not recognise the move, but pledged to continue with peace moves in Darfur and said it would protect United Nations staff in Africa's largest country.
Sudan looks set to seek Chinese, Russian and African support at the United Nations to help block any warrant.
The new Darfur case could embarrass China Khartoum's biggest arms supplier and a major investor in its oil industry just weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.
Darfur is home to the world's largest humanitarian operation and officials have also expressed concern an indictment could further stall the deployment of a UN-funded peacekeeping operation.
Washington accuses the Khartoum government of genocide in Darfur, a charge it flatly denies.
Thousands of protesters chanted anti-American slogans as they rallied in Khartoum on Sunday to protest against a potential arrest warrant, which Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat told the crowd would ignite his country.
"This indictment may well shut off the last remaining hope for a peaceful settlement for the country," said Andrew Natsios, former US special envoy for Sudan.
The ICC was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court.
As well as Darfur, it is investigating Uganda, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo but has no police force and only has four suspects in custody.
The Sudan case comes at a difficult time for the fledgling court after judges threw its first trial into doubt amid concerns a Congolese militia leader could be denied a fair trial as the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defence.
ICC judges issued arrest warrants for two Sudanese suspects last year government minister Ahmed Haroun and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
International experts say at least 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced since a rebellion erupted in 2003. Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Bashir on Saturday and stressed the independence of the ICC but also the need to manage the situation on the ground, expressing concern about any impact on the deployment of UN peacekeepers.
Sudan's main rebel groups, who have also been accused of rights abuses, have said any ICC arrest warrant for Bashir would be a triumph for justice, and pledged to hand over their own commanders if sought by the court.
Judges will probably take several weeks or months to rule on the likely application for new arrest warrants. Sudan's allies could press the UN Security Council, which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC for investigation in 2005, to pass a resolution suspending a warrant or inquiry for a year, with unlikely support from Western powers. Reuters
THE International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor yesterday charged Sudan's president with genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur in a move Khartoum warns could set fire to the region.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by an international court since Liberia's Charles Taylor and before that Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic.
"Moreno-Ocampo has presented evidence today showing that... Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur," the prosecutor said in a statement.
Fearing an upsurge in violence from an enraged Bashir and emboldened rebels in Darfur, aid organisations have tightened security in Sudan in recent days.
Khartoum, which is not a party to the court, said it did not recognise the move, but pledged to continue with peace moves in Darfur and said it would protect United Nations staff in Africa's largest country.
Sudan looks set to seek Chinese, Russian and African support at the United Nations to help block any warrant.
The new Darfur case could embarrass China Khartoum's biggest arms supplier and a major investor in its oil industry just weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.
Darfur is home to the world's largest humanitarian operation and officials have also expressed concern an indictment could further stall the deployment of a UN-funded peacekeeping operation.
Washington accuses the Khartoum government of genocide in Darfur, a charge it flatly denies.
Thousands of protesters chanted anti-American slogans as they rallied in Khartoum on Sunday to protest against a potential arrest warrant, which Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat told the crowd would ignite his country.
"This indictment may well shut off the last remaining hope for a peaceful settlement for the country," said Andrew Natsios, former US special envoy for Sudan.
The ICC was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court.
As well as Darfur, it is investigating Uganda, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo but has no police force and only has four suspects in custody.
The Sudan case comes at a difficult time for the fledgling court after judges threw its first trial into doubt amid concerns a Congolese militia leader could be denied a fair trial as the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defence.
ICC judges issued arrest warrants for two Sudanese suspects last year government minister Ahmed Haroun and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
International experts say at least 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced since a rebellion erupted in 2003. Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Bashir on Saturday and stressed the independence of the ICC but also the need to manage the situation on the ground, expressing concern about any impact on the deployment of UN peacekeepers.
Sudan's main rebel groups, who have also been accused of rights abuses, have said any ICC arrest warrant for Bashir would be a triumph for justice, and pledged to hand over their own commanders if sought by the court.
Judges will probably take several weeks or months to rule on the likely application for new arrest warrants. Sudan's allies could press the UN Security Council, which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC for investigation in 2005, to pass a resolution suspending a warrant or inquiry for a year, with unlikely support from Western powers. Reuters
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