Sudan Asks for Arab League Meeting on ICC Indictments | Voice of America - English
The Sudanese government has called for a special meeting of the Arab League group of countries to discuss the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the move comes amid a growing number of reports that the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will announce an indictment of Sudan's president on Monday.
The International Criminal Court's (ICC)chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is scheduled to deliver a newsconference on Monday where he is expected to announce one or more newindictments in an investigation into the conflict in the Darfur regionof western Sudan. No names have yet been revealed, but thereis growing speculation that Moreno-Ocampo will seek the arrest ofSudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his role in war crimes. TheArab League says it has received a request from the Sudanese governmentto hold a meeting on the issue, and has begun consulting foreignministers from the member countries. On Friday, Sudan'sambassador to the United Nations, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, denouncedthe possibility of an indictment against President Bashir. "Itis a criminal move," he said. "A criminal move that should be resistedby all peace wishers and peace loving countries in the world." Sudanhas refused to hand over the two Sudanese citizens currently wanted bythe ICC, Ali Kushayb, a leader of the government-backed Janjaweedmilitia, and humanitarian affairs minister Ahmed Haroun. Sudaneseofficials have indicated that the government will continue to rejectrequests to turn over any Sudanese citizen to the ICC. Someactivists have welcomed the possibility of charges against PresidentBashir, which would mark the first time the court has sought chargesagainst a sitting head of state. Other international tribunals havebrought charges against leaders still in office, including Serbia'sSlobodan Milosevic and Liberia's Charles Taylor. But U.N.officials and humanitarian workers have expressed concern that anindictment of President Bashir could antagonize the Sudanese governmentand invite retaliation that could complicate the deployment of aU.N.-African Union peacekeeping force that is already behind schedule,and threaten the security of aid operations on the ground in Darfur. Sevenpeacekeepers were killed on Tuesday when gunmen ambushed a patrol innorth Darfur. The attackers have not been identified, but someobservers suspect they belong to the Janjaweed militia. Analystshave also cautioned that an indictment could compromise efforts torevive peace talks between the government and rebels. Abdalhaleemindicated that such a move would damage Sudan's relations with theinternational community. "This man has come with this adventureto take us back to square one and to destabilize the constructiveengagement that Sudan has with the international community," he said. "This is why we are condemning it in the strongest possible terms andwe think that it is the responsibility of the international communityalso to do likewise." In June, Moreno-Ocampo said that Sudan's "entire state apparatus" was involved in organizing crimes against civilians in Darfur. TheU.N. says the conflict has killed between 200,000 and 300,000 peoplesince 2003, and displaced over 2 million. Sudan's government says nomore than 10,000 have died.