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ICC seeks arrest of Sudan president for Darfur war crimes

AFP, The Hague
The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor called yesterday for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Beshir had "masterminded and implemented" a plan to destroy a large portion of three ethnic groups in the western Sudanese region, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement released in The Hague.
His appeal to the court’s judges marked the first ever request to the ICC for an arrest warrant against a sittinghead of state.
Moreno-Ocampo's bold move came despite fears and warnings that it could enflame tensions in Darfur and lead to the expulsion of aid workers and peacekeepers in Sudan’s troubled western region.
Sudan immediately rejected the call as damaging to Darfur peace hopes, but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Khartoum to cooperate with the court.
In Cairo, the Arab League said foreign ministers are to hold an emergency meeting on Sudan on Saturday to discuss the prosecu-tor'scall.
The White House on Monday
urged all parties "to remain calm,'' in its first reaction to the prosecutor's call.
The Argentine prosecutor told journalists after delivering the statement that "what happened in Darfur is a consequence of Beshir's will."
"The crime of genocide is a crime of intention. Beshir had the intention to destroy the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups," engaged in a rebellion in Darfur.
"Bashir failed to defeat the armed movements so he went after the people. His motives were largely political. His alibi was a "counterinsurgency". His intent was genocide," the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement there were "reasonable grounds to believe Beshir bears criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Judges will now examine the application to ascertain whether reasonable grounds exist to believe that a crime within the court's jurisdiction had been committed, before deciding whether to issue a warrant or not -- a process that could take several months. Moreno-Ocampo is insistent: "Bashir is the president. He is the commander in chief. Those are not just formal words. He used the whole state apparatus, he used the army, he enrolled the militia/ Janjaweed. They all report to him. They all obey him. His control is absolute. *
Khartoum, which rejects the ICC s jurisdiction and refuses to surrender two war crimes suspects already named, warned that the move could threaten peace efforts in Sudan's long-running conflict , A foreign ministry spokesman said the prosecutor's move to indict Beshir "completely disregarded the efforts undertaken by the government the regional powers and the international community (on Darfur)."
Ali al-Sadiq said the arrest call would only encourage Darfur rebels to launch attacks on the people of Darfur and on UN peacekeepers, as well as 'complicate the engagement between Sudan and the UN."
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said in an interview published on Monday that he was "very worried’ by the possibility of Beshir's indictment
"It would have very serious consequences for peacekeeping operations including the political process,’ he told Le Figaro newspaper. ’I'm very worried, but nobody can evade justice'
At his monthly press conference in Downing Street, Brown urged Khartoum to cooperate.
"We call on the government of
Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court has our support foritsactivities," he said.
The Arab League and African Union have already voiced their fears over a possible indictment of Beshir. while the Organisation of the Islamic Conference warned of "grave ramifications'.
Western embassies have advised nationals to limit unnecessary travel and the United Nations has stepped up its security levels amid fears that the ICC prosecutor's move could sparkviolent retaliation,
Contingency plans have been made for an evacuation of diplomatic missions and aid agency personnel and non-essential staff were told to stay at home on Monday.
The UN says up to 300,000 people have died since the Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10.000.
Moreno-Ocampo said the prosecution had collected evidence showing that al-Beshir's target groups, some 25 million people in camps for those displaced hy war. were being attacked with the aim of elimination.
"Three main weapons are used to attack them in the camps: rape, hunger, fear," the prosecutor said.
"They are the most effective methods to commit genocide today, in front ofour eyes."
The conflict began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power.