ICC seeks al-Bashir arrest
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 05, 2009 00:00
KHARTOUM / THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court, or ICC, issued an arrest warrant yesterday for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, while he evaded genocide charges.
Due to insufficient grounds, the warrant did not include genocide charges, which had also been requested by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told AFP in The Hague. She said the warrant listed seven counts Ğ five of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes. They included the crimes of murder, torture, extermination, forcible transfer, rape, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and pillaging.
The UN says up to 300,000 people have died since conflict broke out in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime for a greater share of resources and power. Sudan dismissed the ICC decision, with a presidential adviser saying that it was part of a "neocolonial" plan.
Meanwhile Turkey, which was criticized for supporting the leadership of Sudan's controversial president in solving the crisis in Darfur, adopted a more cautious tone yesterday with regard to the warrant ."The general approach is that the cooperation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is needed in order to overcome the problems in Darfur. We hope, the latest developments won’t make things more difficult for Sudan," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told reporters yesterday before his departure to Brussels, where he will attend an unofficial meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday.
Al-Bashir paid his first visit to Turkey after the issuance of the warrant and Turkey came under fire from human rights organizations for twice welcoming the Sudanese president in 2008.
The UN Security Council should accept a resolution that calls on member states to arrest Bashir, a situation that puts Turkey in a difficult position. Turkey, a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, has close ties with Africa and Bashir himself.
The UN says up to 300,000 people have died since conflict broke out in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime for a greater share of resources and power. Sudan dismissed the ICC decision, with a presidential adviser saying that it was part of a "neocolonial" plan.
Meanwhile Turkey, which was criticized for supporting the leadership of Sudan's controversial president in solving the crisis in Darfur, adopted a more cautious tone yesterday with regard to the warrant ."The general approach is that the cooperation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is needed in order to overcome the problems in Darfur. We hope, the latest developments won’t make things more difficult for Sudan," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told reporters yesterday before his departure to Brussels, where he will attend an unofficial meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday.
Al-Bashir paid his first visit to Turkey after the issuance of the warrant and Turkey came under fire from human rights organizations for twice welcoming the Sudanese president in 2008.
The UN Security Council should accept a resolution that calls on member states to arrest Bashir, a situation that puts Turkey in a difficult position. Turkey, a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, has close ties with Africa and Bashir himself.