["Three main weapons are used to attack them in the camps: rape,
hunger, fear," the prosecutor said]
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=45848
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:16 PM GMT+06:00
ICC seeks arrest of Sudan president for Darfur war crimes
Afp, The Hague
The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor called yesterday for
the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Be****r for genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Be****r had "masterminded and implemented" a plan to destroy a large
****tion of three ethnic groups in the western Sudanese region,
prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement released in The
Hague.
His appeal to the court's judges marked the first ever request to the
ICC for an arrest warrant against a sitting head of state.
Moreno-Ocampo's bold move came despite fears and warnings that it
could enflame tensions in Darfur and lead to the expulsion of aid
workers and peacekeepers in Sudan's troubled western region.
Sudan immediately rejected the call as damaging to Darfur peace hopes,
but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Khartoum to cooperate
with the court.
In Cairo, the Arab League said foreign ministers are to hold an
emergency meeting on Sudan on Saturday to discuss the prosecutor's
call.
The White House on Monday urged all parties "to remain calm," in its
first reaction to the prosecutor's call.
The Argentine prosecutor told journalists after delivering the
statement that "what happened in Darfur is a consequence of Be****r's
will."
"The crime of genocide is a crime of intention. Be****r had the
intention to destroy the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups,"
engaged in a rebellion in Darfur.
"Ba****r failed to defeat the armed movements so he went after the
people. His motives were largely political. His alibi was a
'counterinsurgency'. His intent was genocide," the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement there were "reasonable
grounds to believe Be****r bears criminal responsibility in relation to
10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Judges will now examine the application to ascertain whether
reasonable grounds exist to believe that a crime within the court's
jurisdiction had been committed, before deciding whether to issue a
warrant or not -- a process that could take several months.
Moreno-Ocampo is insistent: "Ba****r is the president. He is the
commander in chief. Those are not just formal words. He used the whole
state apparatus, he used the army, he enrolled the militia/Janjaweed.
They all re****t to him. They all obey him. His control is absolute."
Khartoum, which rejects the ICC's jurisdiction and refuses to
surrender two war crimes suspects already named, warned that the move
could threaten peace efforts in Sudan's long-running conflict.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the prosecutor's move to indict
Be****r "completely disregarded the efforts undertaken by the
government, the regional powers and the international community (on
Darfur)."
Ali al-Sadiq said the arrest call would only encourage Darfur rebels
to launch attacks on the people of Darfur and on UN peacekeepers, as
well as "complicate the engagement between Sudan and the UN."
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said in an interview published on
Monday that he was "very worried" by the possibility of Be****r's
indictment.
"It would have very serious consequences for peacekeeping operations
including the political process," he told Le Figaro newspaper. "I'm
very worried, but nobody can evade justice."
At his monthly press conference in Downing Street, Brown urged
Khartoum to cooperate.
"We call on the government of Sudan to cooperate with the
International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court has our
sup****t for its activities," he said.
The Arab League and African Union have already voiced their fears over
a possible indictment of Be****r, while the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference warned of "grave ramifications".
Western embassies have advised nationals to limit unnecessary travel
and the United Nations has stepped up its security levels amid fears
that the ICC prosecutor's move could spark violent retaliation.
Contingency plans have been made for an evacuation of diplomatic
missions and aid agency personnel and non-essential staff were told to
stay at home on Monday.
The UN says up to 300,000 people have died since the Darfur conflict
broke out in February 2003. The Sudanese government puts the death
toll at 10,000.
Moreno-Ocampo said the prosecution had collected evidence showing that
al-Be****r's target groups, some 2.5 million people in camps for those
displaced by war, were being attacked with the aim of elimination.
"Three main weapons are used to attack them in the camps: rape,
hunger, fear," the prosecutor said.
"They are the most effective methods to commit genocide today, in
front of our eyes."
The conflict began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms
against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed Arab militias,
fighting for resources and power.
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