THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court's chief prosecutor yesterday called for the arrest of Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during five years of fighting in Darfur, writes MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo told judges at The Hague that al-Bashir bore criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The prosecutor said President al-Bashir had "masterminded and implemented" a plot to wipe out the three main ethnic groupings in Darfur. "His motives were largely political," Mr Moreno-Ocampo said. "His alibi was a counterinsurgency. His intent was genocide."
The court's three-judge panel must now decide if there are grounds for an arrest warrant to be issued.
The Darfur conflict, which erupted in 2003 after rebels complaining of discrimination took up arms against the Khartoum government, has claimed more than 200,000 lives, with more than 2.5 million Darfuris driven from their homes.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo accused the Sudanese president of turning against civilians in the region after failing to quash the rebels' uprising. For more than five years, government forces and militia laid waste to villages in Darfur and pursued survivors into the desert, he charged.
"Al-Bashir organised the destitution, insecurity and harassment of the survivors. He did not need bullets. He used other weapons: rape, hunger and fear. As efficient, but silent," Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
The prosecutor's move came despite fears that it could further exacerbate tensions in Darfur and lead to the expulsion of humanitarian workers and peacekeepers.
Darfur's main rebel groups hailed the announcement as a victory for justice. "This is a window of hope for me and my people," Abdel Wahid el-Nur, founder of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), told The Irish Times.
"It sends a message that justice will eventually reach those who commit genocide. All who believe in justice and human rights will support this move."
Sudanese government officials, on the other hand, promised to turn the region into a graveyard in a series of protests against the ICC. Hundreds of people in the capital Khartoum demonstrated outside western embassies as popular opinion rallied around the president. The government immediately rejected the accusations, saying it does not recognise the ICC or its decisions.