Saturday 7 June 2008

Near Miss by International Court in Catching Sudanese Suspect

According to an article in today's Al Jazeeera, http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/13966AF6-5E96-4BB1-811C-FD37F7C7AEC6.htm, the International Criminal Court came close to catching Ahmad Harun, Sudan's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, when he travelled to Mecca late last year. Plans had been made to divert Harun's aircraft to the territory of a friendly government, but Harun go wind of it and didn't takle the plane at the last minute. An arrest warrant was issued by the Court for Harun last May. On Thursday of this week, the Prosecutor spoke to the problem of State cooperation in his bi-annual report to the Security Council: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/367/43/PDF/N0836743.pdf?OpenElementpdf?OpenElement. He said he will be asking the Court to issue new arrest warrants in July. His remarks suggest they will be directed at the highest levels in the Government of Sudan. According to the Prosecutor: 'The evidence shows that the commission of such crimes on such a scale, over a period of five years and throughout Darfur, has required the sustained mobilization of the entire Sudanese State apparatus: the coordination of the military, security and intelligence services, the integration of the Janjaweed militia, the participation of all ministries, the contribution of the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies and the control of the judiciary.
Thanks to Dr. Michael Kearney.

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