With word about Bashir's indictment expected from the International Criminal Court tomorrow, things are heating up:
Sudan president tells court to ''eat'' expected warrant:
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was defiant towards the International Criminal Court Tuesday, telling it to "eat" an expected warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
"They will issue their decision tomorrow ... this coming decision, they can prepare right now: they can eat it (the warrant)," Bashir told a crowd of cheering supporters who lit and stamped on an effigy of ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.
Bashir's comments were made at the opening of a hydroelectric dam in Merowe, northern Sudan, a day before ICC judges were due to respond to a request by Ocampo for an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes in the Darfur region of western Sundan.
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The opening of the dam, billed by Bashir as "the beginning of the end of poverty in Sudan," was attended by dignitaries from Arab states, as well as Chinese officials, and executives from European and Chinese companies involved in the project.
Bashir used the occasion to announce cuts in electricity prices, for the poor and for industry and agriculture, ranging between 25-30 percent.
Tensions have risen in Sudan as it awaits the decision by the ICC, which China, the African Union and the Arab League have warned could destabilise the region, worsen the Darfur conflict and threaten an already troubled peace deal between north Sudan and the semi-autonomous south.
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Photo: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al- Bachir addresses an assembly of politicians, religious leaders, artists and students from Sudan's eastern provinces in Khartoum, March 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)
To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/sudan-president-tells-court-to-eat.html.
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President Isaias [of Eritrea] assured the delegation that as the move being taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir not only targets the Sudanese leader and the Sudan itself but also the entire countries of the region, Eritrea would not accept it and would stand alongside the Sudanese people.
Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie on his part lauded the firm stance of President Isaias, as well as the people and Government of Eritrea in rejecting the ICC issue and the efforts they are exerting towards promoting a comprehensive peace and justice in the Sudan. In this respect, he described such a stance as “correct and courageous.”
Stating that the interference of the International Criminal Court would only aggravate the Sudanese issue in general and that of Darfur in particular rather than bring about solution, Dr. Nafie underlined that the ICC issue would undermine regional peace and prompt neo-colonialism in Africa.
To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/eritrea-rejects-icc-issue-and-stands.html.
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Opinion Piece by Desmond Tutu, featured in the NYTimes
Will Africa Let Sudan Off the Hook?
(Cape Town) The expected issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court tomorrow presents a stark choice for African leaders — are they on the side of justice or on the side of injustice? Are they on the side of the victim or the oppressor? The choice is clear but the answer so far from many African leaders has been shameful.
Because the victims in Sudan are African, African leaders should be the staunchest supporters of efforts to see perpetrators brought to account. Yet rather than stand by those who have suffered in Darfur, African leaders have so far rallied behind the man responsible for turning that corner of Africa into a graveyard.
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To read more, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/opinion/03tutu.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.
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To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MSAO-7PS4VQ?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P.
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Eritrea rejects ICC issue and stands alongside the Sudanese people
Source: The State of Eritrea's Ministry of Information at shabait.com (hat tip AllAfrica) by Staff March 2, 2009:President Isaias [of Eritrea] assured the delegation that as the move being taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir not only targets the Sudanese leader and the Sudan itself but also the entire countries of the region, Eritrea would not accept it and would stand alongside the Sudanese people.
Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie on his part lauded the firm stance of President Isaias, as well as the people and Government of Eritrea in rejecting the ICC issue and the efforts they are exerting towards promoting a comprehensive peace and justice in the Sudan. In this respect, he described such a stance as “correct and courageous.”
Stating that the interference of the International Criminal Court would only aggravate the Sudanese issue in general and that of Darfur in particular rather than bring about solution, Dr. Nafie underlined that the ICC issue would undermine regional peace and prompt neo-colonialism in Africa.
To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/eritrea-rejects-icc-issue-and-stands.html.
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Opinion Piece by Desmond Tutu, featured in the NYTimes
Will Africa Let Sudan Off the Hook?
(Cape Town) The expected issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court tomorrow presents a stark choice for African leaders — are they on the side of justice or on the side of injustice? Are they on the side of the victim or the oppressor? The choice is clear but the answer so far from many African leaders has been shameful.
Because the victims in Sudan are African, African leaders should be the staunchest supporters of efforts to see perpetrators brought to account. Yet rather than stand by those who have suffered in Darfur, African leaders have so far rallied behind the man responsible for turning that corner of Africa into a graveyard.
....
To read more, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/opinion/03tutu.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.
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Peacekeepers will stay in Darfur even if Sudanese President indicted – UN official
Source: United Nations News Service
Date: 02 Mar 2009
With the International Criminal Court (ICC) expected to announce its decision on seeking an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes this week, the chief of United Nations peacekeeping operations today said that the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) will continue its patrols protecting the local population.
Speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alan Le Roy, said that he is assured that peacekeepers in Darfur will not come under threat should the ICC indict President Al-Bashir.
"The Government would assume its full duty of protecting UN missions in Sudan against any negative impact that may result from ICC possible decision against the Sudanese political leadership," Mr. Le Roy told journalists in a wide-ranging briefing on the work of the 18 UN peacekeeping missions around the world.
....To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MSAO-7PS4VQ?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P.
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