MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kremlin's envoy for Sudan accused the International Criminal Court of being selective in issuing its arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday and argued that the measure threatened dire consequences for Sudan and that deferring Bashir's prosecution would be the best option.
The warrant is based on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
"Undoubtedly, those guilty of war crimes and genocide in Sudan must receive the punishment their deserve, regardless of the posts they occupy. However, I can't quite understand the selectiveness of the Hague system of justice [the court in based in The Hague]. Why is it President Omar al-Bashir alone who is charged while members of the rebel groups don't figure in this case? Isn't the conflict in Sudan one between equal parties?" Mikhail Margelov, the Russian president's special representative for Sudan and chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament), told Interfax.
"This bias alone gives rise to certain skepticism about the need for an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir," he said.
"Moreover, I share the concern of the leadership of the United Nations, the Arab League and the African Union about possible negative consequences of this decision of the International Criminal Court. At the moment, there are the first signs of positive dynamics in the peace process not only in Darfur but also in the south of the country. Now that the warrant has been issued these dynamics may come under threat," Margelov said.
There is also a possibility that, if al-Bashir is arrested, "the process of providing the country with food and medical aid will be wrapped up, which may put Sudan on the brink of a humanitarian disaster," the lawmaker said. "Nor should we ignore a possible outbreak of activity on the part of radical Islamists."
"I think that the most acceptable way out of the situation that is taking shape is to defer the prosecution of the Sudanese president under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," Margelov said.