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Darfur: Interview with Harun by newspaper Al-Hayat and of Luis Moreno-Ocampo by AFP; HRW letter to SC and to Japan

05 Mar 2008

Dear all,

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

This news digest includes excerpts of interviews of Ahmed Haroun by
newspaper Al-Hayat and of Luis Moreno Ocampo by the AFP; as well as two
letters by Human Rights Watch. In the first letter, HRW urges the UN
Security Council "to strongly and clearly" respond to Sudan's "lack of
responsibilities to abide by Council resolutions", including Resolution
1593 that referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC. In the second
letter, addressed to Japan’s Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura, HRW asked
him to “use this official visit to press Sudan to immediately end attacks
on civilians, to stop obstructing the deployment of peacekeepers, and to
fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court.”

The following digest includes articles we have received from diverse
sources including international news agencies, local newspapers, and other
sources. Please note that it is not exhaustive and does not represent
views from all parties concerned. We will continue to provide the most
inclusive information as it becomes available.

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,

CICC Communications

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I. INTERVIEW WITH AHMED HAROUN

"Sudanese Minister and War Crimes' Suspect, Ahmed Harun, Accuses Darfur
Rebels of Committing All Kinds of War Crimes and Denies Committing Any
Crime and Describes ICC Continued Handover Demands as a Psychological
War," Al Hayat, 18 February 2008,
http://www.alhayat.com/special/issues/02-2008/Item-20080217-28bf4bf7-c0a8-10ed-01dd-6f8248e9c732/story.html

Please note this is an unofficial translation provided as a service to our
members, and should not be used for quoting in any official documents.

"……[Al-Nur] According to some of the charges directed against you by the
ICC, acts of murder, pillaging, collective rape, and driving citizens out
of their villages were committed in 2003 and 2004 at your orders and under
your supervision. What do you have to say in reply to these charges?

[Harun] It is known that the war in Darfur was ignited by rebels, whether
the Sudan Liberation Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement or the
movements that branched from them, under political claims and for demands
they believe are just. […..] The Government went to Darfur in order to
contain an illegal rebellion that targeted the citizens and their
wellbeing, in addition to the governmental institutions. We were in a
defensive posture. These villages were under the control of the
Government, and the governmental institutions were carrying out their
duties in providing various services to the citizens. …

There is no government that sets fire to itself. We have no personal or
institutional vendetta against the citizens of Darfur. On the contrary, we
went there to protect the citizens. Consequently these accusations are
rejected. ...

[Al-Nur] Do you believe that the solution of the ICC case with Sudan will
be political and not judicial?

[Harun] There are no armed conflicts which ended in courtrooms or through
court orders. This is a political case in the first place, and its
solution is a political solution. Any attempt to employ the tools of the
law will bring the case back to square one and will add more complications
to this sensitive case. ...

[Al-Nur] If there is a breakthrough between Sudan and the international
community on the Darfur issue, do you think that the ICC matter will be
frozen?

[Harun] Since this is a political process, it is tied to a set of
postulates and to a set of varying circumstances. But the position of the
Government is clear, namely that the ICC has nothing at all to do with
this issue.

[Al-Nur] Why Ahmad Harun? There is a Minister of Defence and a Minister of
Interior. You were only a State Minister of Internal Affairs?

[Harun] They are in a better position to answer this. I do not take this
case personally. Ahmad Harun is being treated as part of the symbolism of
the Government that now exists in Sudan more than being Ahmad Harun as a
person. They are not targeting Ahmad Harun in his person but are targeting
Sudan in the person of Ahmad Harun.

[Al-Nur] Does this mean that the charges directed at you have no basis of
truth?

[Harun] I find no basis for them. Does it make sense that Ahmad Harun
ignited this war in Darfur and had the ability to make this war continue
all these years? I believe logic does not accept this. ...

... [Al-Nur] There is circulating talk about your meeting with Western
ambassadors in Khartoum and bargains being made with you on the ICC issue?

[Harun] First this is not true. Because it is not true and because it is
very harmful to me, I had to file charges with the District Attorney
myself. Even so, I am not preoccupied at all with the ICC's charges. I am
at peace with myself because I have committed no crime. Thank God I have
my own legal background and I have worked as a judge, so I am not scared
by tactical legal ploys like this. Further, throughout my experience over
the past 18 years, I continued to deal with death more than once every
month. All colleagues I worked with died, and I hope God will accept them
as martyrs. My feeling is that I am playing in lost time. ...

[Al-Nur] Do you believe that the Government can bargain on your case with
the ICC?

[Harun] No, this is not in its ethics, and there is not a one per cent
possibility for this. I tell you my personal feelings. Sometimes when I am
in my car I find words of encouragement and support from the people. A
situation like this makes you feel national pride and does not make you
shrink.

... [Al-Nur] They say that the statute of limitations does not apply to
the accusations made against you by the ICC. Do you expect that you will
be arrested one day and taken to the ICC?

[Harun] I do not concern myself with considering what this case will come
to. I know the workings of international politics. The issue is not about
international justice and is very detached from it.

[Al-Nur] Can you travel outside Sudan?

[Harun] Yes, in a normal way. ... "

Also available in Spanish at:
"Acusado de genocidio en Darfur reconoce 'errores individuales' en
conflicto," EFE (via Terra Actualidad-Spain), 18 February 2008,
http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/acusado_darfur_genocidio_reconoce_errores_2259484.htm

II. INTERVIEW WITH LUIS MORENO OCAMPO

"ICC vows to bring Darfur war criminals to justice," Agence France Presse
(Via Khaleej Times), 24 Feb 2008
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2008/February/theworld_February829.xml&section=theworld

"Nine months after the first arrest warrants were issued for those
suspected of being behind atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region, the chief
international prosecutor believes he has the masterminds in his sights.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has vowed to
target the most senior people behind the violence and says that peace will
only be possible in troubled Darfur if arrests are made and those
responsible are brought to justice….

'If Harun is not arrested and removed there will be no justice, no peace
in Darfur,' Moreno-Ocampo said in a telephone interview with AFP from his
native Argentina on Friday. He said arresting Harun 'is the condition for
any solution in Darfur.'
The prosecutor also announced new investigations into crimes against
refugees in the region blighted by five years of civil war after ethnic
minority rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated regime in
February 2003. ...

Asked for details of new arrest warrants, he replied: 'The second case
will be different. Harun is instructed, he's supported,' he added without
elaborating. ...

'It is important to show that we are not in any kind of conflict between
the West and the Arab world,' he said.

About Harun he added: 'For me as a prosecutor, I know Harun's destiny is
in court. ..."

Also available at: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article26117

III. HRW LETTER TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL AND TO JAPANAESE FOREIGN MINISTER

1) "Security Council: Condemn Attacks in West Darfur Letter to the
Security Council," HRW Open Letter, 27 February 2008,
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/02/27/sudan18168.htm

"Your Excellency:

We write to urge the Security Council, in view of the recent horrific
attacks carried out by the government of Sudan on civilian villages in
West Darfur, to strongly and clearly respond to the government's
continuing flagrant disregard for the lives of its population, for its
obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and for
its responsibilities to abide by Council resolutions. We are calling on
the Security Council to immediately issue a presidential statement
condemning the attacks and to impose targeted sanctions on those
responsible for the ongoing atrocities.

... Other manifestations of the government of Sudan's disregard for its
international legal obligations include:

... Contrary to resolution 1593 which referred the situation in Darfur to
the International Criminal Court (ICC), persistently and outspokenly
refusing to cooperate with the court; instead retaining one person under
ICC warrant as State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, and releasing a
second from jail.

We believe that these recent abuses demonstrate how far Khartoum has been
emboldened by the failure of the international community to impose real
consequences for such actions in the past. ...

We call on the Council to take action on two fronts as follows:

First, the Security Council should promptly issue a presidential statement
condemning the government of Sudan's violations of international
humanitarian law in West Darfur, the appointment of Musa Hilal, and the
refusal to cooperate with the ICC. ...”

2) “Letter to Mr. Masahiko Koumura, Japanese Foreign Minister”, March 3, 2008
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/03/sudan18195.htm

“We write to you on the occasion of the visit by Sudanese presidential
assistant, Nafi Ali Nafi, to Tokyo. We understand that Japan wishes to
support a swift resolution to the crisis in Darfur, and we welcome in
particular the support you have given to ensuring consultation among
Darfurians. However we wish to highlight that the political process will
not provide protection for civilians who are today under attack in Darfur,
nor will it provide justice for the victims of atrocities and abuse
perpetrated over the last five years.

….. The government of Sudan has also perpetuated an environment of
impunity for crimes in Darfur. The national courts have failed to
prosecute any person for serious crimes in Darfur. In April 2007 the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants for two men for
atrocities carried out in West Darfur. However Khartoum has repeatedly
reiterated its refusal to cooperate with the court or to hand over the two
individuals subject to arrest warrants. One, Ahmed Haroun, remains state
minister for humanitarian affairs in Darfur, responsible for the welfare
of the very victims of his alleged crimes. The other, Ali Kosheib, was in
custody in Sudan on other charges, but was released in October.

As a new state party to the Rome Statute, and with the appointment of
Judge Fumiko Saiga to the ICC, Japan has shown its commitment to the Court
and to international justice. You now have an opportunity to demonstrate
the depth of that commitment by calling on Sudan to cooperate fully with
the court and to immediately hand over Haroun and Kosheib.

….. Japan should use this opportunity to call on the government of Sudan
to immediately end the attacks, to end its obstruction of UNAMID, and to
fully cooperate with the ICC…”

i. Press release: “Japan: Press Sudan to End Obstruction and Abuse” by
Human Rights Watch, 4 March 2008
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/03/sudan18196.htm

“Human Rights Watch has written a letter to Japan’s Foreign Minister
Masahiko Koumura asking him to use this official visit to press Sudan to
immediately end attacks on civilians, to stop obstructing the deployment
of peacekeepers, and to fully cooperate with the International Criminal
Court. …”

ii. “Rights group calls for Japan to press Sudan” by AFP (link not
available), 4 March 2008

“Human Rights Watch called Tuesday on Japan to press Sudan to end the
violence in Darfur ahead of a visit to the Asian economic power by a
senior Khartoum official.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura plans to meet this week with
Nafie Ali Nafie, a top aide to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir.

The US-based rights group urged Komura in a letter ‘to use this official
visit to press Sudan to immediately end attacks on civilians, to stop
obstructing the deployment of peacekeepers and to fully cooperate with the
International Criminal Court.’…”

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