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Darfur Part II: Reaction of Al-Qaida; Al-Bashir visits Ethiopia, Libya and Egypt; Further Reaction from ICC Prosecutor; US Spokesperson on the ICC; Editorials and Analysis

03 Apr 2009

Dear all,

This is the second of a four-part message regarding the International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan, with specific reference to the 4 March issuance of an arrest warrant for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, president of Sudan, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This message contains information on the reaction of Al-Qaida second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri to the arrest warrant for Al-Bashir (I); support for Al-Bashir (II); the Sudanese President's visits to Ethiopia, Libya, Egypt (III); further reaction from ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo (IV); US spokesperson stating the State Department said USA under 'no obligation'to arrest Al-Bashir (V); editorials and analysis (VI).

We encourage you to participate in our blog discussion on Darfur by visiting www.coalitionfortheicc.org/ blog

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.

Regards,

CICC Secretariat
[email protected]

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I. AL-QAIDA LEADER REACTS TO AL-BASHIR'S INDICTMENT

i."Al-Jazeera TV airs part of message on Sudan by Al-Qa'idah's Al-Zawahiri," Al-Jazeera Arabic, 25 March 2009 (link unavailable)

" In an audio recording posted on the Internet, Al-Qa'idah second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri has said the International Criminal Court [ICC] decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir does not aim to resolve the Darfur issue, but a justification for more foreign interference in Muslim countries, as he put it.

[Begin recording of Al-Zawahiri audiotape] The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Umar al-Bashir, which has serious indications, and we should contemplate and examine its motivations and consequences. I would like here to highlight several points. First of all, I do not defend Umar al-Bashir and his regime, nor do I defend what he did in Darfur and elsewhere. This has nothing to do with Darfur or resolving the crisis of Darfur...."

ii."Al-Qaeda deputy tells Sudan's Beshir to 'repent': SITE," AFP, 24 March 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jisZBkmvvXN5BSTs_0lKfaARSc7Q

"Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri urged the people of Sudan to prepare for guerrilla war and for President Omar al-Beshir to 'repent,' in an Internet video message released on Tuesday.

Zawahiri said Beshir's regime is 'reaping what it sowed,' in reference to the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the veteran Sudanese president this month on charges of war crimes over the conflict in Darfur...."


II. EXPRESSIONS OF SUPPORT FOR AL-BASHIR

i."ICC Decision against Al Bashir aborts all International Justice Values/ A. Universities Union," Sudanese Media Center, 24 March 2009,
http://english.smc.sd/enmain/entopic/?artID=16804

"The 42 round of Arab universities union conference affirms supporting Sudan's efforts to achieve peace in the country. However, the union condemns ICC decision against President Al Bashir for it contradicts all international charters, traditions and targets the sovereignty of an independent country. The Arab universities union issue statement highlights that ICC decision coincides with Sudan genuine efforts to restore peace in the country in collaboration with friendly countries and peace seekers in the world. The statement stresses that the bad intention of the decision is clear....'

ii. "Sudanese Leader Arrest Warrant "against International Law": Somali Lawyers," Xinhua Net,
26 March 2009, http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/03/26/1321s468255.htm

"A lawyers' association in Somalia Wednesday described the International Criminal Court's ( ICC) arrest warrant for the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al- Bashir as 'illegal and against the international law.'

The statement from Somali Lawyers Association (SLA) comes as the result of a workshop held Wednesday by members of the association in the Somali capital Mogadishu and attended by Somali government officials including the Somali Attorney General Abdullahi Daahir Barre who supported the lawyers' statement...."

III. AL-BASHIR VISITS ETHIOPIA, LIBYA, EGYPT: NEWS REPORTS AND NGO STATEMENTS

i. "Sudan's Bashir heads to Ethiopia, defying ICC," Reuters (via Yahoo), 26 March 2009,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090326/wl_nm/us_sudan_bashir_3

"Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir departed Sudan on Thursday for Ethiopia in a show of defiance to an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court on charges of Darfur war crimes.

A Sudanese presidential palace source and a foreign ministry official said Bashir, who risks arrest any time he travels abroad, was on his way to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa but gave no further details...."

ii. "Bashir Travels to Libya," Voice of America, 26 March 2009, http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-26-voa20.cfm

"Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Libya, his third trip abroad this week in defiance of an international warrant for his arrest.

Earlier reports said the Sudanese president was headed for Ethiopia. But Arab media and officials in Libya and Sudan said Mr. Bashir instead went to Libya and is expected to meet with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Mr. Gadhafi, like other Arab and African leaders, has criticized the International Criminal Court for indicting Mr. Bashir on charges of war crimes in Darfur. The Sudanese leader visited Eritrea on Monday and Egypt on Wednesday, meeting with the presidents of both countries...."

iii. "Sudan's Beshir 'arrives in Libya'," AFP (via Yahoo), 26 March 2009, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090326/wl_africa_afp/sudanconflictdarfurwarcrimeslibyaethiopia2ndlead

"Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, who is facing an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur, arrived in Libya on Thursday, his third trip abroad in a week, his office said.

.... Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has criticised the warrant, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 4. He told UN chief Ban Ki-moon it constituted a 'grave precedent against the independence of less powerful states, their sovereignty and their political choices.'..."


iv. "ACIJLP Calls Upon Egyptian Government to Extradite the Sudanese President to ICC," The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP), 25 March 2009, http://coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/ACIJLP_25march2009_en.pdf

iv. "Failed opportunity to enforce justice," Amnesty International, 25 March 2009, http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/egypt-sudan-failed-opportunity-enforce-justice-20090325

v. "Al-Bashir visit to Egypt is a missed opportunity to enforce justice," Amnesty International, 25 March 2009, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/al-bashir-visit-egypt-missed-opportunity-enforce-justice-20090325

vi. "Egypt keeps visit of Sudan president under tight wrap," Sudan Tribune, 24 March 2009,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30621

"The Egyptian government and official media maintained silence over news reports that Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir will fly to Cairo on Wednesday.

A number of news agencies quoted unidentified Egyptian officials as saying that Bashir will meet with President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday morning.

...'It is confirmed. There is a visit tomorrow,' Suleiman said and added that Mubarak would have lunch with Bashir...."

vii. "Sudan's Bashir to visit Egypt - Arab media," Reuters, 24 March 2009,
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLO620311

"Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir plans to fly to Cairo on Wednesday in a show of defiance after the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted him on accusations of war crimes in Darfur, Arab media reported. Bashir risks arrest when he leaves Sudan because of the warrant issued for him by the Hague-based court earlier this month, and Sudanese Islamic scholars have warned him not to travel to an Arab summit in Qatar at the end of March.

But he is unlikely to face arrest in Egypt, which has close ties with its Sudanese neighbour and has called on the United Nations Security Council to suspend the ICC warrant....'

viii. "Bashir defies warrant," Gulf Dialy News, 26 March 2009, http://www.gulf-daily news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=246700

"Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir held talks in Cairo yesterday with Egypt's president, defying an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Darfur. Bashir, on his second trip abroad since the court in The Hague issued the warrant on March 4, discussed developments surrounding the ICC ruling with Mubarak before returning home.

He risks arrest when he leaves Sudan because of the ICC warrant, but neighbouring Egypt had not been expected to take any action against him.

Cairo has close ties with Khartoum and has called on the UN Security Council to suspend the warrant. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit renewed Egyptian opposition to the warrant for Bashir's arrest...."

See also:
1. "Sudan's Beshir thanks Kadhafi for Libyan support," AFP (Via Yahoo), 26 March 2009,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090326/wl_africa_afp/sudanconflictdarfurwarcrimeslibyaethiopia4thlead_20090326160832
2. "Omar al-Bashir flouts war crimes warrant with Egypt trip," The Guardian, 26 March 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/26/sudan-egypt-bashir-arrest-warrant
3. "Beshir to visit Egypt on Wednesday: Egypt," AFP, 24 March 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jMdyXzH9WX-5ozv0gLhfXjUudtmg
4. "Despite warrant, Egypt welcomes Sudanese president,"25 March 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwHRs7seOCi_k_H65JtOtPsAsmMAD9756FB80
5. "Egypt backs Sudanese president," International Herald Tribune, 25 March 2009, http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/25/africa/26sudan.php
6. "Mubarak welcomes Sudan president in Cairo," Albawaba, 25 March 2009, http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Egypt/242644
7. "Sudan's leader ends Egyptian trip," BBC News, 25 March 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7963092.stm

IV. ICC PROSECUTOR SAYS NO WAY OUT FOR AL-BASHIR

"No way out for Sudanese leader: war crimes court," AFP, 25 March 2009,
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=85798

"International war crimes prosecutors Wednesday warned Sudanese President Omar el-Bachir, who is visiting Egypt, that there was way of escape as long as he is the subject of an arrest warrant.

'We want all political leaders who might meet Omar el-Bachir to explain to him there is no possible way out,' said a member of the office of Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court prosecutor, in The Hague.

'Arresting him is a process that will take time,' he said, emphasizing that the office was 'monitoring' the movements of the Sudanese president leader who met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak Wednesday.

'There can be no question of 'business as usual' with someone who is the subject of an arrest warrant on charges of such crimes,' according to the office of the prosecutor...."


V. UNITED STATES AND SUDAN

i. "US says 'under no obligation' to arrest Beshir," AFP, 24 March 2009, http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090324/usa/sudan_politics_diplomacy_us_icc_1

"The United States said Tuesday it is 'under no legal obligation' to act on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant and arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood gave the reply when asked if he thought there were merits in the ICC, which the preceding administration of George W. Bush strongly objected to when it was launched in 2002.

'We have said over and again that those who commit atrocities need to be held accountable. And that's where we stand on it,' Wood told reporters during the daily news briefing.

'We are under no obligation to the ICC to arrest President Beshir. We're not a party to the Rome Statute. And let's leave it at that,' he said...."

See full statement at US State Department's website at : http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=17390030001

ii. "US envoy to Sudan starts his first visit to Sudan Thursday," SUNA, 30 March 2009,
http://english.smc.sd/enmain/entopic/?artID=16849

"The US envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration, starts his first visit to Sudan on Thursday, during which he will meet a number of government officials and visit Darfur and Southern Sudan. Director of America Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Nasr-Eddin Wali said in a statement to SUNA following his meeting with the American Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum, Alberto Fernandez, and Sunday that they welcome the envoy and call on him to engage in serious and transparent dialogue on the outstanding issues to reach solution to them in constructive spirit. The American Charge d''Affaires, on his part, said the visit comes in continuation to direct dialogue...."


VI. EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

i."Africa: Al-Bashir's Road to Jail House," All Africa, 24 March 2009,
AllAfrica: http://allafrica.com/stories/200903240619.html

"It is in the nature of Africa's rogue rulers not to know when the game is up. Like all bullies they never tire to try out on others, if only as mere bravado, the terror tactics that have stood them in good stead in dealing with their own people.

Which was why Sudan's murderous ruler, Omar Hassan Al Bashir, would not only execute a quick dance to news of the issuance of a warrant of arrest on him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), but defiantly call the bluff of the Court while pretending not to know anything of the abduction of three aid workers, just hours after news of the arrest warrant on him filtered in from the ICC.

And like a delinquent child who wants praises for a self-defined act of kindness, the Sudanese government, personified by Al Bashir, wants to be commended for ensuring the release of innocent aid workers apparently abducted by persons sympathetic to the regime, if not actually on the payroll of Khartoum. Among other crimes against humanity, Al Bashir is being called to account for the mass murders, rapes and destruction of the homes of the Dafuris in the crisis-ridden Darfur region in Western Sudan...."

ii. "Bashing Bashir," The Century Foundation, 24 March 2009, The Century Foundation: http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=2254

".... International involvement in Sudan's Darfur region has done nothing to solve the underlying political problems, but it has kept millions alive-no mean achievement. Now, despite the high decibel count of international protests, even that achievement is in dire peril.

So far, the result of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity has worsened Darfur's precarious situation. In defiant retaliation, Bashir expelled thirteen international aid agencies and declared he would kick out the rest by year's end. He may hope that the worsening humanitarian situation will persuade the UN Security Council to defer the indictment. The ICC's actions ignited furious debate within the Security Council, between Western states and the Arab League/African Union, and between human-rights advocates and humanitarians. But arguments for or against the ICC decision don't address the issue at hand-how to pick up the pieces in Sudan. A million people are in dire straits.

Obama's appointment of retired-Air Force General Scott Gration as a full time special envoy is an indispensable measure toward establishing a policy to help stabilize Sudan. Even so, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur requires immediate restoration of the lifeline for the mass of internally displaced, and realistically must be separated from the longer-term political effort...."

iii. "Waltz With Bashir," by Andrew Natsios, Council on Foreign Affairs, 23 March 2009, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64904/andrew-natsios/waltz-with-bashir

"Two weeks ago, the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced what many had long clamored for: an order for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, whom it indicted in July for the atrocities his government committed against the people of Darfur. As the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and then the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, I have interviewed enough people in Darfur over the past six years to know that Khartoum committed terrible crimes, particularly in 2003-4, when it tried to crush an insurgency through ethnic cleansing, ordering the burning of villages, mass rape, and the summary execution of young men it feared might join the rebel movement. The question now is not whether such crimes were committed -- they were -- but what consequences the ICC's latest action will have for justice, peace, and stability in Sudan. They will not be good.

......Advocates of the recent ICC decision believed it would pressure Bashir and his government to behave better. It has already done the opposite, and now the regime will do everything necessary to remain in power and make sure that Bashir is never arrested. The chances of a peaceful political transformation in Sudan, admittedly slim to begin with, have become even slimmer with the order for Bashir's arrest. So long as the threat of the order loomed, it probably did help to restrain the Sudanese government. With the threat now realized, the regime has far less to lose....."

iv. "Arrest warrant too costly for Darfur," by Eric Reeves, Boston Globe, 21 March 2009, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/03/21/arrest_warrant_too_costly_for_darfur/

"EARLIER this month, Sudan's National Islamic Front expelled 13 humanitarian organizations from Darfur and Northern Sudan. The expulsion order followed immediately the announcement by the International Criminal Court of an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, charging him with crimes against humanity and war crimes. All evidence points to a well-planned response by Khartoum to a judicial decision that was universally expected...."

v. "Darfuris' Mixed Feelings Over Bashir Warrant," by Katy Glassborow (IWPR), 25 March 2009, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=351286&apc_state=henh

".... While many Darfuris applauded the recent indictment by the International Criminal Court, ICC, of Sudan president Omar al-Bashir, some were disappointed that genocide was not among the war crimes charges.

The destruction of Darfur communities has been nearly total, Bush continued, and has been focused on specific ethnic groups.

'The Arabs attack Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit,' Bush explained. 'Why did they not attack other African tribes? Why did they not attack Purgu, Falata?

'It is because they are not farmers, like us. They are not people of the land. This is our land, and they are attacking us because they need our land - they need to take our land.'..."

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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts.
Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
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