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Sudan president affirms commitment to peace process, derides expelled aid groups

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pledged his commitment to the peace process in his country at a Saturday rally, while deriding expelled aid groups and the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this week. At the rally, al-Bashir told the assembled crowd that the country would not stray from the peace process and would avoid a return to war. Al-Bashir also used the rally to strike out at aid groups expelled from the country earlier this week, calling them "spies and thieves" and accusing them of using the majority of the money donated to them for personal profit. On Thursday, al-Bashir strongly criticized the ICC warrant, calling it an attempt by Western powers to reassert colonial power over the country. The warrant, issued on Wednesday, charged him with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but did not include genocide charges. The controversial arrest warrant had been sought by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who in July filed preliminary charges against Bashir alleging genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in the Darfur region in violation of Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 07, 2009 (boomark / email).