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| Africa Horn |
| Sudanese Officials Meet With AU on ICC Charges |
| 2008-07-22 |
| Sudan is trying to rally diplomatic support for rejecting war crimes charges against President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court. Sudanese officials presented their objections to the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa. Following the decision by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor to seek the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his role in the conflict in the country's western region of Darfur, Sudan has attempted to bolster international opposition to such a move. A Sudanese delegation led by Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabdarat went before the African Union's main security organ. The deputy head of Sudan's diplomatic mission in Ethiopia, Akuei Bona Malwal, described Sudan's opposition to issuing an arrest warrant for President Bashir. "It should be deferred until we establish peace. Because these things they have no time limit, what is the rush now? The idea is that this warrant be deferred until there is a peace process. Of course, we are all against impunity [exemption from punishment] and we hope there will be justice at the end of it. We are not saying he should not go on investigating, but he should not go on arresting the head of state at this junction," said Malwal. |
| Posted by:Fred |