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Latest reactions from the Sudanese govt. to the ICC arrest warrants, interview with leader of Sudanese Communist Party, opinion article

20 June 2007

Dear all,

Please find below excerpts from media articles about the latest reactions
from the Sudanese government to the ICC arrest warrants, including an
interview with the leader of the Sudanese Communist Party who calls on the
government to admit to the crimes they have committed in Darfur before a venue of their choosing.
Please also find below an opinion article that highlights the importance of
the ICC prosecutor's recognition of rape as a war crime in Darfur.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC
(below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on
potential or pending situations before the court. The Coalition, however,
will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Spanish Information Services Officer and Latin America Analyst
[email protected]
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I. MFA LAKOL DENIES HANDING OVER ICC SUSPECTS, BUT "RUNNING SCARED"

i. "Sudanese Minister Denies Discussing Trial Of Citizens With UN Rights
Experts," BBC Monitoring International Reports, 19 June 2007,
Text of report by Sudanese Media Centre website on 18 June,
http://www.smc.sd/en/artopic.asp?artID=15564&aCK=EA

"The foreign minister, Dr Lam Akol has denied discussing the handing over of
any Sudanese suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC), during the
visit by the UN Security Council's delegation to the country.

The minister said Sudan was not concerned with the ICC resolution, pointing
out that the country had a competent judiciary system that was capable of
prosecuting any Sudanese proven to have committed crimes against humanity."

ii. "Running scared in Sudan", The Charleston Post Courier, 20 June 2007,
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/20/running_scared_sudan/

"The arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for a
Sudanese government minister and a Janjaweed militia commander charged with
a litany of terrible crimes committed against the people of Darfur are
already having one desired effect: The Khartoum government is running
scared.

Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations has complained that ICC chief
prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo is spending too much time at U.N. headquarters
and wants to restrict his visits. The Sudanese ambassador's anger over the
prosecutor's frequent visits to the headquarters indicates that he fears
that the U.N. Security Council will order the Sudanese government to arrest
the two men and deliver them to the tribunal for trial..

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir may decide to defy the ICC and the
Security Council, but Haroun and Kushayb will still be fugitives and unable
to leave Sudan or appear in public. The arrest warrants will serve a stark
warning that there is no impunity for crimes against humanity and, outside
Sudan, international law holds sway."

II. SUDANESE LEADER CALLS FOR JUSTICE IN DARFUR

"Interview: Sudanese communist leader urges govt to admit Darfur crimes,"
Sudan Tribune, 20 June 2007,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article22465

"The leader of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) has called on the Sudanese
government to acknowledge crimes committed in Darfur and to assume its
responsibility.

In an interview with the Sudan Tribune, Mohamed Ibrahim Nugud, the Secretary
General of the SCP said that Khartoum has to 'admit to all the crimes they
have committed in Darfur, in any venue of their choosing, be it in the
International Criminal Court or inside Sudan - they have to admit what they
have done.'

Nugud also, accused the Sudanese government of backing the Jajaweed militia
and urged their disarmament."

For more about Nugud's views on the conflict, also see "Car-jackings,
abductions and ambushes are hindering efforts by aid workers, a U.N. report
said," Reuters, 18 June 2007,
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18755814.htm

III. OPINION

"Victims of sexual violence in Darfur face stigma, unresponsive justice
system," by Tale Miller (PBS Online News Hour), 15 June 2007,
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/africa/darfur/rape.html

"Reports of women raped during militia raids or while seeking supplies are
widespread in the Darfur conflict, yet Sudan's government has denied it
occurs and prosecuting the crime has remained virtually impossible in the
Muslim country..While the situation continues to deteriorate and has
threatened to spread across borders, some promising advances are showing up
in the international court. The International Criminal Court issued warrants
in May for two men accused of war crimes, including rape.

The recognition of rape as one of the crimes is significant, said Janet
Benshoof, president of the Global Justice Center in New York. She said
prosecuting war crimes under international law has produced the most
advances for women over the past 20 years.

'It opens a space to make enforceable law for women, that trickles down to
domestic policy," said Benshoof.'"

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