Indicted Sudan minister says west 'has no place in Darfur'
Wednesday, 27 Feb 2008 08:13
Sudanese minister says west "has no place in [Darfur] at all"
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A Sudanese minister wanted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court (ICC) has criticised western intervention in Darfur.
Ahmad Harun, Khartoum's humanitarian affairs minister, said the international criminal court (ICC) "has no place in this crisis at all".
Mr Harun, formerly head of the Darfur security desk, has been issued with an arrest warrant in The Hague over 40 counts of crime against humanity and war crimes including mass murder; widespread rapes; the burning of a mosque; and the expulsion of 60,000 people.
Since 2003 more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million forced from their homes in Sudan's western region of Darfur through the actions of the government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel groups.
A joint United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force has been deploying since the new year, although it remains critically under strength.
In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper, translated from Arabic by the Save Darfur Coalition, Mr Harun denies crimes against humanity have taken place in Darfur.
He said the conflict was a result of Khartoum "assum[ing] its natural position of defending and protecting its citizens", although he admits "mistakes" were made.
"Individual mistakes... took place. If the military bombed a village by mistake, myself and the minister of defence would compensate them for their losses," he continued.
Mr Harun was named a year ago to the day alongside Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb in an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.
A new campaign launched to mark the anniversary - wantedforwarcrimes.org – is today calling on the UN security council to arrest wanted individuals and continued targeted sanctions against Sudan.
Dr James Smith, chief executive of the Aegis Trust, one of 45 founding members of the wantedforwarcrimes.org campaign, said: "After having orchestrated the ultra-violence of 2003 and 2004, Ahmad Harun is now slowing aid deliveries and obstructing peacekeepers - contributing to the deaths in slow motion that we see today in Darfur.
"It is a grotesque irony that he is now in charge of feeding the victims of his own suspected crimes."
In his al-Hayat interview, the translation of which has been verified by the Bahrain Society for Public Freedom and Democracy Watch, Mr Harun says the Darfur conflict will never end in the face of western intervention.
"They - the west - see the world based on clashes and conflict, and that it is God who chose them to rule the world," he said.
"They are not at peace with the rest of the world.
"They declared their civilization the winner. Their goal is to break this government because they think it represents values inconsistent with theirs and therefore a threat to them. That is why they will continue this plan till they make Sudan their playground and that is impossible."