Sudan Rejects ICC Darfur Crimes Prosecution | Voice of America - English
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at The Hague Monday charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with masterminding and implementing the genocide of the last five years against the people of Darfur.
Thecourt's chief prosecutor presented the three-judge panel with evidencecharging President Bashir with responsibility in relation to 10 countsof genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and asked the courtto issue an arrest warrant. It could be months before the judgesrule. But in the meantime, those in the human rights community say thecharges are a big step forward in assigning responsibility for thecrimes that have led to the deaths of some 300,000 people and thedisplacement of more than two million others. Richard Dicker is the director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch in New York. "Myreaction is, it is a very big step, a very important step, in endingthe impunity for the horrific crimes that have occurred in Darfur since2003," said Richard Dicker. "I think requesting a warrant for the headof state - the president of Sudan - sends the message that no one isabove or beyond the law for crimes that have occurred there." NiematAhmadi is an activist with the Save Darfur Coalition in the UnitedStates. She fled Darfur in 2005 after two assassination attempts.Ahmadi welcomed the ICC's announcement saying it sends a message ofhope to the people of Darfur. "I think it is a very importantstep for the people of Darfur, that they feel for the first time thatthere is hope; there is a serious step toward ending their suffering,"said Niemat Ahmadi. In 2005, the U.N. Security Council adopted aresolution [1593] referring the situation in Darfur to theInternational Criminal Court in The Hague and ordering the Sudanesegovernment to cooperate with the court. Khartoum has refused tocomply with the prosecutor's earlier request that it hand over twoother suspects, and Sudan's U.N. envoy, Abdalhmahmood Mohamad, saidMonday that position has not changed, calling the charges "politicallymotivated." "We don't recognize the authority of the ICC," saidAbdalhmahmood Mohamad. "We will never cooperate with the ICC. We willnever hand over to the ICC suspects, let alone the president, which isa symbol of our dignity and our authority. This is why we consider thismove as an affront and insult to the dignity of the entire Sudanesenation." Ambassador Mohamad said his government has alreadystarted consulting with U.N. Security Council members about suspendingthe charges for one year - a power the council has under the treatythat created the ICC. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whois in Paris, issued a statement saying the United Nations wouldcontinue its peacekeeping operations in Sudan, where it has more than40,000 peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and staff. Someobservers have raised concerns that the charges could lead toretaliatory acts against U.N. personnel, particularly after an attacklast week on U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur that killed seven. Mr. Bansaid he expects Khartoum to fulfill its obligation to ensure the safetyand security of all U.N. personnel and property. Khaled Mansour,the spokesman for the U.N. Mission in Sudan, told VOA Monday that someprecautionary measures have been taken in Darfur and throughout therest of Sudan that could entail the relocation of non-essential staff,but that none had been relocated yet. He said the U.N. would continueto deal with President Bashir as normal. "We will deal, and wealways deal with government officials, as long as it is critical forour functions and programs in that country," said Khaled Mansour. "Letus make one thing clear. What we have here is an application for anindictment and all people should be innocent until proven guilty." RichardDicker of Human Rights Watch says Sudan has an obligation to facilitatepeacekeeping and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and Monday'scharges should not in any way affect that responsibility. He added thatany retaliatory violence could result in new criminal charges.