UPDATED ON:
Sunday, July 20, 2008
00:29 Mecca time, 21:29 GMT
News Africa
Sudan genocide charges 'dangerous'
The ICC has brought 10 charges, including extermination, against al-Bashir [AFP]

The chairman of an emergency Arab League meeting has said that a decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to charge Sudan's president with genocide and war crimes sets a dangerous precedent.

Mahmoud Ali Youssef, the foreign minister of Djibouti, said at the opening of the one-day meeting in Cairo on Saturday that the 10 charges brought against Omar al-Bashir at the Netherlands-based court will have dangerous repercussions for the entire region.

"The indictment is a dangerous precedent in dealing with heads of state. It will have dangerous repercussions, not only on Sudan but on the whole region," Youssef said.

He chaired the meeting convened by the 22-member Arab League to discuss the charges.

In his opening statement, Youssef criticised what he branded "the double standards" of the international community, saying that "the world watches Palestinian suffering without moving" to end it.

Extermination charges

Al-Bashir was charged on July 14 that he waged a campaign of extermination against three Darfur tribes that claimed up to 300,000 lives and drove 2.5 million people from their homes.

A three-judge panel from the ICC is expected to take two to three months to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Al-Wasiyla, left, said Arabs were united in condemning the ICC action [AFP]
The charges against al-Bashir came a year after the court indicted Ahmed Harun, Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, who was formerly in charge of security in Darfur, and suspected militia leader Ali Kushayb on crimes against humanity.

Arab foreign ministers were expected to discuss a proposal calling on al-Bashir to hand over two Darfur war-crimes suspects to the court in an effort to fend off the longtime leader's own prosecution.

Al-Samani al-Wasiyla, Sudan's minister of foreign affairs, after a brief meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit, said that "the Arab position is completely united" in condemning al-Bashir's indictment.

Just before the Arab League meeting convened, Yemen's lower house of parliament condemned the charges against al-Bashir as legally groundless.

A resolution passed by the 301-seat Yemeni Assembly of Representatives dismissed them as a "complete falsehood and an infringement on Sudan's internal affairs".

It said that the charges were "part of a plot targeting Arab and Muslim nations".

 Source: Agencies
 
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Feedback Number of comments : 15
 
Richard Ludwig
United States
20/07/2008
are you sure?
The view that islamic states are targeted by a broad western movement may be true , but in this case, the disturbance is a good reminder to the leader of Sudan that he is responsible!and the people in the South are getting persecuted, or were all the dead there just Fata Morgana's? He is not standing trial but traveling will not be that easy anymore, even if he may enjoy his status as Paria, he may not care (it does however looks like he does) but this will have longterm effects on others also

Aly Baba
United States
20/07/2008
ICC
The Arabs' dictators are afraid to be next. Let us expose the true criminals against humanity.

Guevara
Afghanistan
20/07/2008
Double Standard
There is a double standard when dealing with the European nations and genocide. The fact is the US, UN and all European interests created Israel however, Darfur is not a smoke screen by any means. There is suffering, death, and misery on unbelievable levels manufactured by the Sudanese gov. which contracts the Janjuweed militia, justice must be done in Sudan!! Where is China in all of this!? China has been financially supporting the Sudanese gov. for years now. Buy Chinese = more Fur die

Bob in AZ
United States
20/07/2008
Sudan - ICC Charges al-Bashir
While I agree that there is a defacto double standard applied to Westerners and others, the atrocities committed under al-Bashir's leadership are not fictional. Whether or not he is complicit in perpetrating them is a matter to be judged based upon credible evidence, not rhetoric. Personally, I implore the ICC to bring the same scrutiny to Mr. Bush and his gang for the atrocities committed in the name of my country in recent years. For me, at least, justice has only one standard. Shalom.

Dhoruba Bin-Wahad
United States
20/07/2008
Arab league support for Al-Bashir?
The Arab league are such hypocrites! They have been silent on the slaughter of Africans, muslim and non-Muslim for decades and yet rail against the Zionist for murder of Arabs - Bashir is a coward hiding in the shadows of ignorance.

S. Ahmed
Canada
19/07/2008
Sudan Genocide
While the fairness of the charges vis-avis other despotic leaders committing crimes against Humanity may be questionable what is not questionable is the culpability of Omar Bashir and his regime in committing terrible crimes including genocide and ethnic cleansing agains his own southern tribes most of whom are to Muslims. Instead of blindly lending support to this despot and bringing shame upon themselves and other Muslims the Arab league should condemn his criminal actions

Davin
Canada
19/07/2008
SPIN
when you point a finger three point back at the perpetrator

george mourad
United States
20/07/2008
double standard
well, it is good that the ICC is bringing charges against a tirant but they should charge more leaders with crimes against humanity what they waiting for?if they are so independent of a body why not charge George W. Bush,Chenney,Kim Jong,Olmert and most of the arabs leaders?that will send a message to the world that justice exists but well they are not that powerful to overcome the influence of the USA or other major powers

Joe
United States
20/07/2008
Failure of the ICC
What about Sharon? If there is the slightest hint of an arresst warrant, there should be one for Sharon too. al bet he is in a coma, he should be charged in absentee.

ibrahim
Maldives
20/07/2008
the charges must be correct, and justice must be served. In this line lets see the leaders of state sponsored terrorism such as Isreal and US prosecuted. What they did and the suffering they are bringing to the world are no secret to any observer of events.

D.
France, Metropolitan
20/07/2008
ICC on EVERYBODY please, not just a pick-and-choose.
ICC is a good wake-up call for Al-Bashir and other Arab leaders that have been encouraging violence everywhere in the world in the name of Islam instead of calming the violence down. However to be fair... ICC should be used on EVERY state leader in the world that encourages crimes against humanity on civilians. Meaning President Bush, ex PM Tony Blair and the likes should be indicted too by the ICC. When that happens, the entire world will respect the ICC.

Adeniyi
United Kingdom
20/07/2008
Another Excuse
It's hightime US and there western allies stop all these fight for humanity. Isreal is killing palestinian in commercial scale, no charge against their head of state. US army is killing civilian in large scale both in Iraq and Afghanistan, no charge against them. Now the same set of people turn back to teach me about humanity and our right, using media to manipulate the situation, I think you should go to africa and see for yourself. It is not about justice, it's about Sudan's oil.

TAREK
Australia
20/07/2008
Sudan genocide charges
The Charges are well overdue for this smiling murderous tyrant. The Arab leaders not liking this of course, because genocide and the ethnic cleansing is a practice that they all do well. As for those anarchists who are unhappy about the double standard. I can tell them there is non or have you forgot what happened in Europe during the Balkan war when there was ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, All the Arabs were cheering hurray for it back then. Who has the double standards here?

Al d Penguin
Antarctica
20/07/2008
The hypocrisy is when Arab dictators persistently use the Palestinian question to obscure their own inefficiency and failure in the public sphere. Just what message are they trying to send by backing up the policy of Sudan's government?

Sammy Boat
Ghana
20/07/2008
Sudan genocide charges dangerous
When Arabs are the perpetrators, then, the Arab world take see no evil, hear no evil approach. When Arabs are the victims, then you want the whole world to know. First, the genocide were against Non Muslims, and now against Non Arabs. Always, the perpetrators in Sudan are always the so called Arab. The Arab league missed the whole issue completely: Instead of dismissing the charges against Bashir upright, the should have asked themselves whether there are any merrits in the charges . SHAME

 
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