Turkey has concerns over impact of Bashir warrant - foreign minister

"We will see what consequences the warrant will have, but, to be honest, we have concerns," Babacan was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as telling reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. Â

 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the warrant Wednesday, making Bashir the first sitting president to face such action. The Sudanese leader faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes.

 

NATO member Turkey holds a non-permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, which, under the ICC statute, can ask the court to suspend the investigation or prosecution for 12 months.

 

The situation places in Turkey, who had garnered the support of African states in its bid for the Security Council and has close ties with Bashir, in a difficult position.

 

The Islamist-rooted Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government faced criticism for hosting Bashir twice: first on a bilateral visit in January, and then at multilateral cooperation talks with African leaders in August.

 

Diplomatic sources say Turkey is likely to push for a delay in the implementation of the arrest warrant in the Security Council. Turkey aims to prevent its relations with Africa from being harmed and to protect Sudan from a possible intensification of internal clashes, sources added.

 

The African Union said Thursday it was negotiating with Security Council members to defer or suspend proceedings against Bashir.

 

"We believe the problems (in Sudan) cannot be resolved by excluding the Sudanese administration. On the contrary, the problems will grow," Babacan also told reporters.

 

"The administration has shortcomings and mistakes," Babacan said. "But if we really want a solution in Sudan, we can achieve it only... with the cooperation and support of the administration," he added.

 

TURKEY’S SUPPORT EXPECTED

Sudanese Ambassador to Ankara Ibrahim Matar Abdulrahim Mohamad said later Thursday at a news conference in Ankara his country would continue cooperating with friendly and sister countries such as Turkey, China, Arab and Asian states in their efforts to find a solution to the Darfur issue.

 

He was quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying that they were ready to assist journalists from both friendly and enemy countries to visit Sudan.

 

Mohamad also thanked Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who was the first Muslim prime minister to pay a visit to Darfur, for his efforts to find a solution to the issue.

 

He also said he believed that Turkey would continue supporting Sudan.

 

Mohamad also told reporters that Bashir would not make any change in his visits to foreign countries, including attending the Arab League meeting in Qatar next month and the other conferences in the region.

 

The ICC's decision is politically motivated and based on a pack of lies, and threatens the security of the entire world, he said, describing it "as the most dangerous decision in the world".

 

He said the real of goal of the ICC was not unveiling the truth, but to destroy the Sudanese government. He said such a decision was taken since embargoes and blockades imposed on Sudan have failed.

 

Mohamad told reporters that the court's decision aimed at separating Sudan by destabilizing the country, and obstructing projects and foreign investments in Sudan. If it is put into practice, it will play havoc with democratization efforts in Sudan, he added.

 

BASHIR ATTACKS WEST

Bashir lashed out at the West earlier on Thursday at a mass rally in Khartoum called to protest the international arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

 

"The true criminals are the leaders of the United States and Europe," Bashir was quoted by AFP as telling the angry crowds, waving banners and portraits of the veteran leader.

 

More than 5,000 people joined the rally in Khartoum’s Martyrs Square shouting support for Bashir and denouncing ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who called for the arrest warrant in July.

 

"Ocampo and the Jews, we have been trained to confront people like you," th crowds chanted.

 

Bashir accused the United States of committing genocide against "American Indians, at Hiroshima and in Vietnam." "For 20 years we have been under the pressure of the neo-colonialists and its instruments such as the ICC, the U.N. Security Council and the International Monetary Fund," he said.

 

His government sheltered al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden for five years in the 1990s when the Western world's most wanted man consolidated his terror networks operations. In 1998, the United States bombed a pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum, claiming it was a chemical weapons factory.

 

 

On Wednesday, Sudan ordered the expulsion of 10 international aid agencies which provide essential aid to the estimated 2.7 million people made homeless by the war in Darfur in the world’s largest humanitarian operation.

 

Security was also beefed up around foreign embassies in Khartoum amid fears of reprisals and diplomats have also urged expatriates to avoid public places and stock up on essential supplies.