By NNN-KUNA,
Cairo : Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the pan-Arab body is exerting all efforts in coordination with the African Union (AU) and the UN Security Council (UNSC) to politically and legally overcome Sudanese and the International Criminal Court (ICC) dispute.
The League’s Chief, after an extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers here, described in a joint press conference with the session’s President in the League Council and Foreign Minister of Djibouti Mahmoud Ali Yusuf that the current predicament as dangerous.
“During the last couple of days the League held extensive meetings and discussions with a number of well known lawmakers on the issue, and on “how to proceed, including discussion on the political side and the role of the UNSC with such dangerous situation,” Moussa said.
The Arab League Chief noted that during those meetings agreement were reached to proceed with caution and “until the Sudanese President, the African Union and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon all been notified.
For his part, Djibouti Foreign Minister Yusuf explained that there is a serious effort by the ministers to end the crisis, adding that Sudan now needs all the support it can get.
Arab Foreign Ministers concluded their meetings in the Arab League slamming the ICC’s top prosecutor and dubbing the charges as unbalanced prosecution, noting that Sudan’s courts should judge alleged Darfur war crimes.
In their final communique, the ministers asserted their support to Sudan and rejected all attempts of “politicizing principles and international justice,” the statement noted.
The final communique further called on the importance of respecting Sudan’s sovereignty, unity and to support peace and reconciliation efforts in among Sudanese factions.
The communique also warned against sending a negative signal to Sudanese rebel movements which might raise determination in rejecting political settlement and stability in Sudan.
The ministers stressed as well that “the mandate of Sudan’s civil judiciary in achieving justice,” in a resolution following crisis talks in Cairo over how to deal with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s request for Sudanese President Al-Bashir to be arrested on genocide charges.
The resolution also criticized Moreno-Ocampo’s “unbalanced stance” for asking ICC judges to issue a warrant for Al-Bashir’s arrest, which, if granted, would be the first ever issued by the Hague-based court against a sitting head of state.
Some of the Arab League’s 22-members have previously criticized Moreno-Ocampo’s move, saying it threatens peace prospects in Darfur, while also alarming of a dangerous precedent for other leaders in the region.