Sudan head accused of war crimes

Sudan head accused of war crimes July 14, 2008: Sudan says an indictment of Mr Bashir would harm any prospects of peace Sudan's president has been accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Luis Moreno-Ocampo told judges at The Hague that Omar al-Bashir bore criminal responsibility for alleged atrocities committed over the past five years. The three-judge panel must now decide whether there are reasonable grounds for an arrest warrant to be issued. Sudan's government has warned the move will undermine peace process in Darfur. The country does not recognise the ICC and has refused to hand over two suspects who Mr Moreno-Ocampo charged last year, Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Harun and militia leader Ali Kushayb. It has also labelled Mr Moreno-Ocampo a criminal, and warned that any indictment could stall peace talks and cause mayhem in Sudan. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this move by this criminal Ocampo The BBC's Laura Trevelyan at The Hague says that while some will welcome this move as a victory for justice, others fear it may spark further violence. The UN estimates that some 300,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur since 2003, while more than two million people have fled their homes. Sudan's government is accused of mobilising Arab militias to attack black African civilians in Darfur, after rebels took up arms in 2003 - charges it denies. 'Disastrous' Speaking to reporters in The Hague, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he had submitted a report which recommended President Bashir face three charges of genocide, five of crimes against humanity, and two of war crimes. The chief prosecutor said last month that Sudan's "entire state apparatus" had been involved in an organised campaign to attack civilians in Darfur. Thousands of pro-government protestors took to the streets On Sunday, thousands of people rallied in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to show their support for Mr Bashir and to denounce the anticipated charges. "With our souls, with our blood we die for Bashir," the demonstrators chanted outside an office where the president was chairing an emergency meeting. Sudan's representative at the United Nations told the BBC that any charges against Mr Bashir would be disastrous for the security and stability of Sudan. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this move by this criminal Ocampo," said Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad. The ruling National Congress party meanwhile warned of "more violence and blood" in Darfur. Mr Bashir said he had been angered by talk of his possible arrest, but added that it made him more determined to push for peace. I'm very worried, but nobody can evade justice UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "Our decisive response to them is that our issues are progressing and as before, our programmes are moving, and that this matter only increases our determination and seriousness to progress in the same direction," he told state radio. "This talk has angered us and prompted us to move this way. We will move forward, God willing. We are committed to remove the country from a crisis." But a leader of one of the factions of the Sudan Liberation Army rebel group told the BBC it would welcome any action by the ICC. "The regime in Khartoum committed a big crime… We think the ICC is going the right way," Abdul Khalil said. Peacekeeping fears UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the French newspaper, Le Figaro, that he was "very worried" about the possible impact of any indictment on peacekeeping operations and the political process, but added that "nobody can evade justice". Earlier, a UN spokeswoman said it had raised the security alert level for its staff in Darfur. The joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid), which has 9,000 troops, has been struggling to contain the violence. The joint UN-AU force has been struggling to bring peace to the region It has raised the security alert for its staff to "level four", which stops short of evacuating all staff, but relocates foreign workers who are not directly involved in relief or security operations. John O'Shea, director of Irish aid agency Goal, warned the Sudanese government and its supporters not to seek revenge against international aid agencies and peacekeepers for the ICC's moves. "Should the Sudanese government take that type of action, they're in a way shooting themselves in the foot," he told the BBC. "The NGO community and the UN agencies have done a very good job in the context of looking after hundreds of thousands of vulnerable and desperately poor people." The ICC was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court. Other international courts have previously indicted Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and President Charles Taylor of Liberia while they were in office.