Cairo - In an effort to avert possible prosecution of the
Sudanese president on genocide charges, Arab foreign ministers are
expected to examine in an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday a
proposal that would call for the trial of two other indicted Sudanese
officials, according to Arab diplomatic sources.
The emergency meeting in the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League
will look into finding some legal leeway out of the crisis between
Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court on
Monday to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-
Bashir on suspicion of genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Al-Bashir is accused of waging against three Darfur tribes a
campaign of genocide that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands
and displaced about 2.5 million people from their homes in the
western Sudanese province.
The ICC is expected to rule in October or November whether to
issue the arrest warrant.
The Arab ministers will ask al-Bashir to bring to justice two
Sudanese officials who were indicted by the ICC last year, Arab
diplomats told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The two officials are Ahmed Harun, Sudan's Minister of
Humanitarian Affairs, and Ali Kushayb, a militia leader.
The proposed trial would take place in Sudan under international
and African supervision, the diplomats said.
Under another proposal, which has been mooted in Arab diplomatic
circles, a trial of the two officials would take place in an African
country and would be attended by ICC representatives.
It would be difficult for the Arab League meeting to come out with
a statement condemning the indictment of the Sudanese leader by an
international body, the diplomats maintained.
But the Arab body, however, will try to bloc the ICC move to issue
an arrest warrant, with the view that any such moves will derail
efforts to bring peace to Darfur and other parts of Sudan.
The Arab League argues that Sudan does not recognize the authority
of the ICC, hence its president should not be tried by the court.
Some Arab countries have already warned al-Bashir that he should
pursue serious efforts to resolve the Darfur conflict but have been
dismayed by al-Bashir's failure to do so, according to Arab
diplomats.
It is not clear what Sudan's response will be to the proposed
trial as the country rejected Thursday any deal with the ICC to hand
over officials in return for a dropping of the charges against al-
Bashir.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story