November 11, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir downplayed his indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) stressing that it does not bother him.

Sudan’s President Omer Hassan al-Bashir (AP)

In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir. Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder.

ICC judges are still reviewing the evidence before making a ruling.

But Al-Bashir speaking to a rally in Kordofan, described the ICC accusations as “nuisances” and “similar to mosquito buzz”.

The Sudanese president also accused certain parties of attempting to move war from the western region of Darfur to bordering province of Kordofan in central Sudan.

He also lashed out at Western enemies of his country saying his government “does not hear humiliation or embarrassment”.

“We are the grandchildren of those who faced death in Karari in which 12,000 people were killed in an hour” he said.

Karari was the scene of a battle in 1898 between the Anglo-Egyptian army and followers of the Madhya who ruled Sudan at the time.

Al-Bashir statements come a day after a surprise visit by the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in which they discussed the ICC issue in a private meeting.

Some analysts in Khartoum speculated that Mubarak warned Al-Bashir that a quick resolution to Darfur crisis is the only way to fend off ICC charges.

Last week Al-Bashir blasted Western countries and accused them of trying to topple his regime during the last 20 years.

“We will not be broken and we will not kneel or be driven because they will not prolong our life or reduce our term in office” Al-Bashir told a rally in Eastern Sudan.

“Money and ruling is not in the hands of US, France & UK. They are all underneath my shoes” he said angrily.

The strong statements by Al-Bashir may signal his frustration with his envoys failure to convince these countries to suspend the ICC move against him. Khartoum has dispatched numerous envoys to rally world countries behind them.

The African Union, Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) called for invoking Article 16 which allows the UN Security Council (UNSC) to suspend the ICC prosecutions in any case for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.

But Sudan’s allies in the UNSC including China did not introduce a resolution following suggestions by the US and to a lesser extent France that they will use their veto power to block a deferral.

(ST)