The Sudanese Government was predictably dismissive of the International Criminal Court’s decision today to issue another arrest warrant – this time on genocide charges – for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Let’s hope a repeat in absurd rhetoric is the only thing Bashir repeats from the last time an arrest warrant was issued.
The Real Threat to Justice Is the Political Tool That Disguises Itself as a Court
WASHINGTON, July 12
The so-called International Criminal Court (ICC) has resurfaced from its rightful place of insignificance to announce charges of genocide against President Omer al-Bashir, adding absurdity to the dubious accusations previously leveled against the president.
Mired in its dazzling hypocrisy and not in the least bit apologetic of this glaring double-standard, the caricature of a court mocks true justice as it has proven to uphold nothing more than a perversion of the universal values it pays lip service to. It wields no credibility, an essential component of any legitimate institution. Its constant cowering from the pursuit and condemnation of those who pose the real threat to justice has gained it nothing but contempt from the world’s majority and Africa, which has so far been the exclusive preying ground for the ICC.
Sudan deeply regrets that such a farce has to compound the more important issues the country is dealing with, especially when one considers the fact that we, like many others, aren’t signatories to the statute and therefore don’t recognize the court.
CONTACT: Embassy of Sudan Press and Information Office, phone: +1-202-338-8565, or fax: +1-202-667-2406
Column Lynch and Bec Hamilton quote the Sudanese Ambassador to the U.N. in the Washington Post:
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, dismissed Monday’s ruling as another politically motivated effort by the court to undercut prospects for peace in Sudan and vowed never to surrender Bashir. “We condemn this in this strongest terms; it will only harden our resolve,” he said in an interview. “This court’s objective is to destroy chances for peace in Sudan; we’re not going to be bothered by it.”
Reed Stevenson has more for Reuters:
Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the new arrest warrant a “malignant and desperate attempt” to destabilize the country.
“We are confident that the Sudanese people and all peaceloving nations will ensure the demise of this criminal institution,” Abdalhaleem said in a statement, referring to the ICC.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: arrest warrant, Darfur, Government of Sudan, ICC, ICC / Justice, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan
