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Darfur: Attempted Trip of ICC-suspect to Saudi Arabia on a Forged Passport; Unsubstantiated Report of Arab Militia Defection; Statement from UK's Gordon Brown; Interview with US President Bush; and related articles

07 Jan 2008

Dear Colleagues,

Find below information on recent developments related to the International
Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan.

This digest includes articles on the attempted trip of ICC-suspect Ahmed
Haroun to Saudi Arabia on a forged passport; an unsubstantiated report of
Arab militia defection; statement from UK's Gordon Brown urging
international community to give "every possible support" to the work of the
ICC, adding that without this and other efforts, "2008 promises to be
another year of hot air and dithering"; an interview with US President Bush
on US sanctions aimed at individuals "obstructing the peace process
including a rebel leader" in Sudan and several related op-eds including one
from The Guardian (UK) calling the the last five years a "bleak period" for
the UN in part due to "lack of respect shown towards the International
Criminal Court by security council members.".

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 and current situations before the Court or situations under
analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most
up-to-date information about the ICC.

With regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Communications
[email protected]
******************************************

I. ICC SUSPECT ATTEMPTS TRAVEL TO SAUDI ARABIA

"Darfur war crimes suspect attempted travel on a forged passport," Sudan
Tribune, 2 Jan 2007
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25412
"A Sudanese government minister wanted by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) made a failed attempt last month to travel abroad for the first time
since his indictment.
A well placed source in Khartoum told Sudan Tribune that minister of state
for humanitarian affairs, Ahmed Mohamed Haroun, wanted to fly to Saudi
Arabia in December to perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
The judges of the ICC issued their first arrest warrants for suspects
accused of war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region in early May.
.. The source said that Haroun wanted to use a fake passport with a
different name for his planned trip in order to apply for a visa to enter
Saudi Arabia. However he could not confirm if Haroun actually submitted a
visa application to the Saudi consulate in Khartoum.
Haroun ended up cancelling his travel plans after the Sudanese government
found out, the source added.
... Last September Haroun told daily Al-Rayaam newspaper that he is not
concerned about the International Police (INTERPOL) red notices distributed
worldwide asking for his arrest and he will travel if needed.."

II. REPORTS OF DEFECTION AMONG REBEL GROUPS
i. "Darfur rebel group reports mass defection by Arab militias," Sudan
Tribune, 26 Dec 2007
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25329
"Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) announced today that a
large group of Arab tribal leaders and military commanders joined their
ranks.
.There was no independent verification of the defection.
The JEM statement described the event as a 'breathtaking development';
adding that the group included 'some who previously acted as Janjaweed
leaders or enlisted under the infamous Border Guards'.
Khartoum mobilized proxy Arab militia to help quell the revolt of Darfur
rebels who took up arms against the government in February 2003.
.The Arab militia known locally as Janjaweed, pillaged and burned villages
and killed civilians. The Sudanese government has called the Janjaweed
outlaws and denied supporting them.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant last May
against one of the Arab militia commander Ali Kushayb. The warrant for
Kushayb lists 50 counts including murder and intentionally attacking
civilians.
The former US special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios revealed earlier this
month that Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) is
"in discussion and maybe in alliance" with Mohamed Ali Hamiditi who is the
leader of a powerful Janjaweed group.."

ii. "Sudanese Group Rejects Participation Of Egypt, China, Pakistan In
Darfur Force," BBC Monitoring International Reports, 29 Dec 2007
http://www.insideworld.com/stvincent/news.html?sid=646ba9bf6aafe2e6d68800a8d29d9cf0&morestories=0
Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 29 December
".The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement [SLM] headed by Ahmad Abd-al-Shafi has
announced that it rejects any role for Egyptian, Chinese, or Pakistani
forces in the UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. .
Isam al-Din al-Hadj, spokesman for the movement which was unified
recently.pledged his movement's full cooperation and coordination on
implementing UN resolutions, including the arrest of the suspects wanted by
the International Criminal Court, Ahmad Harun and Muhammad Ali Kushayb.."

iii. "Diplomatic Solution Superior in Darfur," Alalam, 1 Jan 2008
http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=031030120080101191703

"A member of Sudan's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) told Alalam that
diplomatic solution is superior to security solution to Darfur crisis. .

The official commented that the government has opposed the entry of forces
on the fear that they might serve as the International Criminal Court police
and be assigned with more missions in the future, including arrest of the
criminals that Sudanese government opposes their handover to the Court. ."

III. GORDON BROWN URGES FOR ICC COOPERATION
"Brown urged to do more for Darfur," UK Press, 1 Jan 2008
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3YoCN0E90w_af67QTcgNdecvCvg
"The Government has been told that it must match its words about the crisis
in Darfur with action.
Shadow secretary of state for international development Andrew Mitchell has
called for Gordon Brown to do more for the stricken region.
.. He added: 'We must step up diplomatic pressure to stop the Government of
Sudan harassing and obstructing humanitarian workers in Darfur, and give
every possible support to the work of the International Criminal Court.
Without these actions, 2008 promises to be another year of hot air and
dithering from the international community."

IV. US GEORGE W. BUSH SPEAKS TO FOREIGN MEDIA ON SUDAN
"Interview of President George W. Bush in a roundtable with foreign print
media (as released by the White House," Federal News Service, 4 January 2008
"...Question: Thank you, Mr. President. You will visit Egypt, sir, which
has recently deployed troops in Darfur.
President Bush: Yes.
Question: Part of the hybrid force. You also signed a bill against Sudan,
which it seems from my point of view again to affect the people -- the
Sudanese people, but not the government. My question, Mr. President, if
Darfur would be part of your agenda when you meet with President Mubarak?
President Bush: Absolutely. First I'll thank him for sending troops.
Secondly, I'm going to correct you on the sanctions.
The sanctions were aimed at individuals within the Sudanese regime, people
that were obstructing the peace process -- including a rebel leader. They
were aimed at the elite and companies owned by the elite, as opposed to the
Sudanese people.
In order for there to be the peace that we all want -- now this is dealing
with Darfur -- and as you know the situation is very complicated because
we're not only dealing with Darfur, we're dealing with the North-South
agreement, as well -- in order to -- well, let me do North-South very
quickly. We have been working with the southern leaders to get them to
participate in the government of Khartoum, so long as the government of
Khartoum is forthcoming with their agreements, such as the sharing of oil
revenues.
Secondly, we have insisted that both parties not be provocative when it
comes to military incursions upon an ill- defined border. Thirdly, we're
providing aid to the people of southern Sudan. And it's interesting, one of
the really interesting things about America is total strangers are going to
help total strangers all the time. And there's a lot of church and
faith-based groups involved in southern Sudan trying to improve the lot of
people living there, in other words, the great humanitarian outreach that
takes place.
...And one of the reasons I put the sanctions on individuals in Sudan -- we
did have sanctions prior to that, general sanctions, but these ones you're
referring to are targeted at folks is because there was a lack of effort by
the government on truly trying to promote the peace process. I recognize,
however, that there has to be a more united effort by the rebel groups. ..
And so I'm -- I have been frustrated, frankly, with the pace of the United
Nations and the AU to get troops in there, because, as I say, my concern is
about the individual that's out in the remote regions of Darfur, maybe going
hungry, definitely worried about violence. But I would repeat to you that in
order to solve this problem there has to be cohesion amongst the rebels and
a genuine, real peace process where people sit down seriously -- to
seriously discuss a better way forward. And the United States will
participate. We have participated by sanctioning, to send the signal that we
expect the government to participate seriously. And we're also, by the way,
as I told you, we sanctioned a rebel leader, trying to send the same
message. It's a terrible situation and one that we hope can be resolved as
quickly as possible.
With that, I want to thank you all. Looking forward to seeing you again..."

V. EDITORIALS, ANALYSIS AND COMMENTS

i. "A test case for the UN," by Philip Honour for The Guardian, 24 Dec 2007
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/philip_honour/2007/12/a_test_case_for_the_un.html

"The last five years have been a bleak period for the United Nations. From
the divisions that surfaced over Iraq to the lack of respect shown towards
the International Criminal Court by security council members, it is hard to
see how the UN can recover its reputation and pursue its mission of
spreading peace worldwide.

The inability and reluctance of member states to challenge the Sudanese
government on the various obstructions that have been strategically placed
to delay the deployment of Unamid, the peacekeeping mission to Darfur, has
again shown that the UN is becoming little more than a symbolic figurehead.

In a report released by 32 non-governmental organisations last Saturday,
suggestions are clearly laid out about how member states can begin to repair
the UN's damaged image and, more importantly, start to break the deadlock
over the deployment of Unamid.

It clearly states that, although the obstructions to deployment are
primarily the result of resistance from the Sudanese government towards a
hybrid force being based in Darfur, the responsibility lies with security
council members to make sure that Sudan complies fully with its obligations
as set out in resolution 1769.

.. A zero-tolerance policy towards Sudan from the UN is the only hope for
peace in Darfur, and while the likelihood of President Bashir ever being
tried by the ICC for crimes against humanity is about as likely as Dick
Cheney being impeached over Iraq, it is important to condemn world leaders
who stand in the way of peace.."

ii. "Failure looms in Darfur," National Post, 24 Dec 2007
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=195012

"Since a war over Darfur's resources broke out five years ago, 2.5 million
people have been left homeless, fleeing to refugee camps such as this one in
Chad. Since a war over Darfur's resources broke out five years ago, 2.5
million people have been left homeless, fleeing to refugee camps such as
this one in Chad

Three years after the United States accused Sudan of committing genocide in
Darfur and a full year after the United Nations began pushing to deploy its
own peacekeeping force there, the conflict remains one of the world's worst
humanitarian crises.

There will be only about 6,500 UN peacekeepers in Darfur 10 days from now,
when a new joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) is scheduled to take over
in western Sudan.

..General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's President, has thrown as many
roadblocks in the way of a UN deployment as possible.

... Khartoum is also cynically playing on a growing international reluctance
to get involved.

After the International Criminal Court indicted Ah-mad Harun, Sudan's
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, for war crimes in Darfur, Gen.
Bashir did not rush to hand him over for prosecution. Instead, he appointed
Mr. Harun to head a committee overseeing deployment of the new peacekeeping
mission.

So far, the general has been given a free ride by the international
community. He has followed a pattern of resisting international pressure
until it peaks, then appearing to give in and waiting for the world's
attention to shift elsewhere, before resuming his delaying tactics.."

iii. "Sudanese spats,"Ahram Weekly, 28 Dec 2007
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/877/reg202.htm

".. In September, Darfur peace talks under the auspices of the UN and the
AU resumed. The focus of the peace talks were the composition of a Darfur
multinational peacekeeping force, which ended without agreement. The armed
opposition groups of Darfur mounted a violent challenge to central
government's authority in Khartoum.

The CPA was tested to the limit in 2007. In October, the SPLA pulled out of
the central government, only to return two months later. However, the
differences between the two parties are far from having been ironed out...

Meanwhile, the Darfur crisis simmered on, reaching boiling point in May when
the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Sudan's
Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and pro- government Janjaweed
militia leader, Ali Mohamed Ali Abdul-Rahman, popularly known as Ali
Kushayb. The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, explained that the two men
were wanted on 51 counts related to committing war crimes in Darfur. Sudan,
however, insisted that the ICC had no jurisdiction to try Sudanese nationals
abroad. Soon after, United States President George W Bush announced the
imposition of fresh sanctions against Sudan."

iv. "Too many UN resolutions on Darfur too little action," Sudan Tribune, 28
Dec 2007 (Written by Mahmoud A. Suleiman)
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25342

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has
issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese minister and a militia leader
suspected of war crimes in the Darfur region. The prosecutor was reported to
have said that the government of Sudan (GOS) has a legal duty to arrest
Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kushayb. Sudan immediately rejected the ICC submission.
Justice Minister Ali Al-Mardhi said Sudan would not hand over any person for
trial by the ICC because "the court has no jurisdiction to try any Sudanese
national for alleged committed crimes". Government of Sudan has said it is
capable of trying alleged war criminals without any help from the ICC. GOS
rejects the ICC's jurisdiction over its nationals and says it will not allow
anybody, including rebels, to be tried outside Sudan!

v. "A seismic political shift is taking place in Darfur," by Julie Flint for
Dialy Star (Lebanon), 31 Dec 2007
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=87724
".To understand the importance of what is happening in Darfur today, rewind
to October 2002 and the first big government-Janjaweed attack on the central
Jebel Marra mountain, four months before the Darfur rebels declared
themselves. Shartai Suliman Hassaballa, the longest-serving chief of the Fur
tribe in Jebel Marra, remembers it well: "On 10 October 2002, the Janjaweed
attacked Kidingeer and killed 30 civilians, including three of my brothers.
They were led by Juma Dogolo of the Awlad Mansour tribe, an immoral,
uneducated man who was nobody until the government gave him weapons."
..Arab militias - the so-called Janjaweed - are the lynchpin of the
government's war in Darfur. Without them, the war would soon be over. The
regular army is poorly motivated, poorly trained and demoralized by a series
of crushing defeats. Its officer class dislikes the partnership with the
Janjaweed and the abuses that have characterized it, for which the
International Criminal Court (ICC) is now pressing charges.."

vi. "What Alternative to UNAMID Will Provide Security for Darfur? (2)", by
Eric Reeves for Sudan Tribune, 1 Jan 2008
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25389
"..The choice before the international community is stark: Is it prepared to
see the UNAMID mission fail? Or will it rally the resources and exert the
pressure on Khartoum, both of which are critical to the mission's success?
Details of deployment, and prospective deployment, are the opposite of
encouraging. But sadly we may look at the international response to Darfur
through other lens as well. Indeed, the case of Darfur and International
Criminal Court (ICC) provides an all too illuminating example of the
terrible mismatch between rhetoric and commitment on the part of various
members of the international community.
..Three weeks ago Britain introduced a toughly worded Presidential Statement
at the UN Security Council, demanding that Khartoum cooperate with the ICC,
which has been hamstrung by a range of issues, including the regime's
refusal to extradite Haroun, along with Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb (known
as the "colonel of colonels" among the Janjaweed). Khartoum has also refused
to grant ICC investigators access to Darfuri witnesses and the sites of mass
executions. But having referred to the ICC the crimes that have led to
arrest warrants for these two brutally murderous men, the Security Council
should at the very least have offered public support for the Court in the
form of a non-binding Presidential Statement. Instead, China's UN delegation
threatened to veto the Statement unless its language was essentially gutted;
and rather than force the issue, Britain, France, and the US---as well as
the other Security Council members---quietly decided to drop the matter.
This familiar capitulation was not lost on Khartoum, which now understands
that the ICC has no real support at the Security Council, and that the
regime may continue to block extradition of accused war criminals, and
impede in all possible ways the ICC investigation of others responsible for
the Darfur genocide
A general lack of international support for the ICC, including among the
European nations that enthusiastically backed the Rome Statute that created
the Court, takes other forms as well. For example, there is an acute
shortage of funding for legal aid to those victims who wish to participate
in ICC proceedings.
...Approximately 500 victims, including from Darfur, Uganda, and Democratic
Republic of Congo, have applied to participate in proceedings at the court
but determinations have been made in only about 20 cases involving
Darfuris.."
vii. "Prosecutor Calls Unsuccessfully on U.N. Security Council to Act on
Sudan's Failure to Cooperate with ICC," by Bruce Zagaris for International
Enforcement Law Reporter.

"On December 5, 2007, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC), called unsuccessfully on the Security
Council to send "a strong and unanimous message" to Sudan's government to
arrest and surrender two men accused of committing war crimes during the
conflict in Darfur. n1 According to Moreno-Ocampo, the Sudanese government,
although knowing the nature of the case against Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb
for ten months, have not acted to prosecute them, or arrest and transfer
them to the ICC.
.. The ICC has charged Harun, Sudan's Minister of State for Humanitarian
Affairs, and Kushayb, a leader of a pro-Government Janjaweed militia, with
targeting civilians in attacks on four villages in West Darfur between
August 2003 and March 2004. The ICC arrest warrants charge them with
multiple counts of personal responsibility for murder, rape, and pillaging
for each of them.
..The Chief Prosecutor accused a component of Harun's ministry of promoting
organized disturbances in the camp.
According to Moreno-Ocampo, Harun has also been present during specific
operations against IDP camps in recent months. In November 2007, the Sudan
government appointed him to a national group overseeing the deployment of
UNAMID, the hybrid U.N.-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force that is being
established for Darfur. A major concern, noted the Chief Prosecutor, is that
Sudan is doing nothing to protect the international forces. Allegations are
that some Sudanese aircraft have been pained with U.N. or AU colors and used
in Darfur, thereby undermining the U.N. and AU and encouraging attacks
against peacekeeping forces. .."

********************************
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