By Prensa Latina,
Khartoum : The Sudanese government and supporters of President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir are awaiting the requested reaction from the international community to a warrant for the arrest of the head of State, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC said it might request the arrest of Al-Bashir on alleged war crimes, crimes against humankind and genocide in Darfur, a ruling that has been considered a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and an interference in the country’s internal affairs.
After mass rallies were staged on Sunday to support the president, the Sudanese government is confident that the United Nations will make a statement in that regard, and that an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League will be held as soon as possible.
The local news agency SUNA reported that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called up Al-Bashir on Saturday and expressed the readiness of the international organization to cooperate with Sudan to implement all the signed agreements and understandings.
If the ICC ruling becomes effective, it would be the first time a warrant is issued for the arrest of a head of State, so the Sudanese ambassador before the Arab League, Abdel-Moneim Mabrouk, denounced the deliberate politicization of the issue.
Mabrouk described the situation as “very dangerous”, and pointed out in Cairo that the ICC, based in The Hague, has political goals that do not include doing justice and prove its double standard by turning a blind eye on some big powers.
In that regard, he recalled that Sudan has urged the international community to stop “those fabrications” that damage the efforts to reach a political settlement in the devastated region and send negative signs to rebel movements unwilling to hold talks.
Observers warned that if Al-Bashir is tried, the peace process would fail and violence would break out again in Darfur, where 9,000 troops from a joint mission between the United Nations and the African Union are on maximum alert.