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INTERVIEW-Darfur war crimes warrant will ruin talks - official
Source: Reuters
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Moves to indict Sudan's president for war crimes in Darfur will ruin new peace talks and lead to repercussions against governments who snub him over the charges, a senior official said on Monday.
Judges from the International Criminal Court are expected to rule within weeks on whether to issue an arrest warrant against Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over allegations he masterminded genocide in Darfur.
Senior Sudanese official Mohammed el-Mahadi Mandour el-Mahadi told Reuters an arrest warrant would wreck negotiations in Qatar between Sudan and the insurgent Justice and Equality Movement.
Sudan's government started talks with JEM last week, almost six years into a conflict that international experts say has killed 200,000 people and driven 2.7 million from their homes.
El-Mahadi, head of the political affairs secretariat for Bashir's dominant National Congress Party, said the looming decision over the arrest warrant had already complicated negotiations.
JEM had felt emboldened to make increasingly unrealistic demands during the talks, he said, and its leader had also promised to hunt down Bashir once an arrest warrant was issued, undermining the whole process. "They have raised their ceilings of their demands. They are asking to be the governors of Darfur, to be the governors of Kordofan (a neighbouring region), to share power with the National Congress," he said in an interview. "(An arrest warrant) will ruin the negotiations," he added. "They will call for other demands. It would be very difficult to continue with the negotiations."
NOT WALK AWAY El-Mahadi said the Sudan's government would not walk away from the talks, but would struggle to find an acceptable resolution if an arrest warrant was issued.
He said Sudan would also take action against foreign powers and diplomats if they showed any signs of slighting the president once an arrest warrant was issued.
"If these governments have a negative attitude towards the president -- if they show it, if they say it -- the (Sudanese) government has to respond or retaliate to that," he said.
El-Mahadi refused to be drawn on what sanctions they might face and did not name specific countries.
But Sudanese officials have recently repeatedly criticised the United States, Britain and France, who they say have used their powers as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to block moves to postpone the ICC case.
Analysts have warned Western embassies will be left in a diplomatic vacuum if an arrest warrant is issued, unsure how to handle relations with a president who is also a wanted man.
Diplomats say they already try to minimise personal contact with Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs who is already wanted by the ICC for directing alleged atrocities in Darfur.
JEM and other rebels took up arms in 2003, demanding equal representation for the region in government and improved infrastructure. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to crush the revolt and denies accusations from Washington that it committed genocide during the counter-insurgency. Both JEM and Sudan's government on Sunday said they were close to signing an initial agreement on confidence building-measures in Doha that could lead to full peace negotiations. But JEM said key differences remained over their demand for an exchange of prisoners -- and other rebels factions said the talks were doomed to failure as they had been excluded. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
Sudan's government started talks with JEM last week, almost six years into a conflict that international experts say has killed 200,000 people and driven 2.7 million from their homes.
El-Mahadi, head of the political affairs secretariat for Bashir's dominant National Congress Party, said the looming decision over the arrest warrant had already complicated negotiations.
JEM had felt emboldened to make increasingly unrealistic demands during the talks, he said, and its leader had also promised to hunt down Bashir once an arrest warrant was issued, undermining the whole process. "They have raised their ceilings of their demands. They are asking to be the governors of Darfur, to be the governors of Kordofan (a neighbouring region), to share power with the National Congress," he said in an interview. "(An arrest warrant) will ruin the negotiations," he added. "They will call for other demands. It would be very difficult to continue with the negotiations."
NOT WALK AWAY El-Mahadi said the Sudan's government would not walk away from the talks, but would struggle to find an acceptable resolution if an arrest warrant was issued.
He said Sudan would also take action against foreign powers and diplomats if they showed any signs of slighting the president once an arrest warrant was issued.
"If these governments have a negative attitude towards the president -- if they show it, if they say it -- the (Sudanese) government has to respond or retaliate to that," he said.
El-Mahadi refused to be drawn on what sanctions they might face and did not name specific countries.
But Sudanese officials have recently repeatedly criticised the United States, Britain and France, who they say have used their powers as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to block moves to postpone the ICC case.
Analysts have warned Western embassies will be left in a diplomatic vacuum if an arrest warrant is issued, unsure how to handle relations with a president who is also a wanted man.
Diplomats say they already try to minimise personal contact with Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs who is already wanted by the ICC for directing alleged atrocities in Darfur.
JEM and other rebels took up arms in 2003, demanding equal representation for the region in government and improved infrastructure. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to crush the revolt and denies accusations from Washington that it committed genocide during the counter-insurgency. Both JEM and Sudan's government on Sunday said they were close to signing an initial agreement on confidence building-measures in Doha that could lead to full peace negotiations. But JEM said key differences remained over their demand for an exchange of prisoners -- and other rebels factions said the talks were doomed to failure as they had been excluded. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
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