Daily Independent (Lagos)
Daniel Kanu, Austin Oboh and Michael Jegede
10 March 2009
(Page 3 of 3)
"Under the international law he can be arrested. But if the person is a sitting President it may not be the best arresting him. He could be allowed until he leaves office because enforcing that mandate will be risky and they may not want to risk a war there as the situation is volatile," he submitted.
However, Head of History Department University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Abayomi Akinyeye's own grouse was that the timing of the warrant was wrong.
The academic said that more emphasis should have been placed on how the on-going peace process would be consolidated to accord lasting solution to the crisis in Sudan, adding that it would be difficult to effect the arrest of a sitting head of state.
"The Sudanese crisis is still ongoing. One would have wanted the dust to settle. The peace process would have been allowed to consolidate. Peace and normalcy to have been fully returned to Sudan before you take this step of issuing a warrant of arrest," Akinyeye averred.
But, former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide, said that the success of the arrest or otherwise would depend on the co-operation of others since those that issued the warrant had neither the police nor the army to enforce compliance.
"The people that issued the warrant of arrest have no police force or the army to mandate compliance. It is the co-operation of the Sudanese majorly that will decide whether or not they will comply," he told Daily Independent.
The legal luminary warned African leaders to be cautious and to tread softly on the issue, as what is happening in Sudan is a product of European imperialism.
"African government must be careful. What happened in Darfur is scandalous and the African Union should have a meeting and deliberate their stand on the issue. America is not a signatory to it and above all what is happening in Sudan is a product of European imperialism. They (African Leaders) must be very careful because once it succeeds in one African country all other states of Africa will become vulnerable," he cautioned.
"The government of the Sudan is obliged under international law to execute the warrant of arrest on its territory," Moreno-Ocampo, who first asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for al-Beshir last year, also told reporters.
The Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which signed an accord with Khartoum last month, welcomed the announcement, but said it was no longer possible to negotiate with the Sudanese government.
"I don't think that ethically it is possible to negotiate with someone who committed crimes in Darfur and has lost legitimacy," Ahmed Tugod Lissan, JEM's chief and secretary for political affairs, was quoted as saying.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry, Thursday expressed deep concern over the development, according to reports. "This will have a negative impact on stability in Sudan and on the peace agreement," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry confirmed its solidarity with Sudan, support to Sudan's sovereignty and unity and respect of its population and leaders.
It called on the UN Security Council and regional and international sides to support the current political process in Sudan, and urged to refrain from adopting double standards in dealing with crises, by ignoring the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza and its aggression on Lebanon in 2006.
Understanding The International Criminal Court
The ICC is the Worlds first permanent war crimes tribunal, coming into force in 2002 with its headquarter at The Hague, the Netherlands. It is an independent body, not a UN court. A court of last resort, the ICC acts only when member countries are unwilling or unable to dispense justice themselves. It may prosecute individuals responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed after July 2002. The UN Security council can ask the court to open an investigation.
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I totally support the decision of the ICC and thoughts of other right thinking africans who have made comments abt the subject matter. No african leader or head of government should be spared to face criminal charges. The situation in sudan is worrisome and more so because we have a despot bent on killing black Sudanese because they choose religion other than islam. This is tantamount to arab imperialism and must stop. The Arab North is using the oil resources in the south to develope the former at the detriment of the people of the south.They hired and payed islamic militia to terrorise, kill and rape innocent women just in the name of a jihad. I agree that this shameful act is worse than apartheid Russia and China support the leadership in the North for economics reasons. The Chinese have never done anything good in africa. They sell us adulterated and second hand goods because they are themselves fake. Our corrupt leaders use them to strenghten their grip on power. The Russian leadership in moscow are alike. It baffles me when they talk abt interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state to make their argument for going against decisions of right thinking people or world body. The situation in gaza shouldn't be compared to this because hamas is a terrorist organisation Finally, i posit that the lunatic president of sudan must be brought to book. This will serve as a deterent to others.