Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir vowed on Saturday not to hand over any of his countrymen to a foreign court, after the United Nations cleared the way for Darfur war crimes suspects to be tried by the International Criminal Court.
”I swear thrice in the name of Almighty Allah that I shall never hand any Sudanese national to a foreign court,” said Al-Beshir in a speech to the ruling National Congress’s consultative council.
The UN Security Council on Thursday passed a resolution allowing those suspected of carrying out war crimes in Sudan’s western Darfur region to be handed over to the Hague-based International Criminal Court.
About 300 000 people have died in more than two years of conflict in Darfur, characterised by murder, rape and pillaging.
The UN vote came after intense haggling, with Washington eventually ensuring that none of its nationals could be referred to the court, prompting accusations of double standards by Khartoum’s representative.
Beshir said the resolution is a failure for the UN because ”it has ignored all norms of international legitimacy by exempting Americans from accountability just because America is a powerful state but, by God, we are more powerful”.
He said any talk of handing over a Sudanese national to a foreign court ”is unacceptable” as the Sudanese judiciary ”is competent, honest and just in its rulings”.
Beshir added that any Sudanese official ”who goes beyond his powers and jurisdictions and harms a Sudanese national shall be brought to justice”. — Sapa-AFP