PRESS RELEASE

Damanga Encouraged by first Steps of the international criminal court

March 1, 2007

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy welcomes the encouraging announcement released on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 by the International Criminal Court.  The Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has named the first two suspects in the case of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sudan’s Darfur region.  The two men are Ahmed Haroun, the current humanitarian affairs minister, and a janjaweed militia leader named Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb.  Haroun was the state minister of interior in 2003 and 2004, and was charged with overseeing the government response to what was termed a rebellion in Darfur.  Ali Kusayb was named as the leader of attacks and mass executions in 2003 and 2004 in which hundreds of people were killed.

Damanga urges the ICC to quickly move forward with the issuing of summons and indictments for the two suspects.  The organization also hopes that Mr. Moreno-Ocampo will release the names of additional suspects, and urges the ICC to focus on those responsible at the highest levels.  These names include President Omar al-Bashir and his advisor Ali Nafei; Vice-President Ali Osman Taha; the presidential representative in charge of Darfur, General Mohamed Ahmad Al-Dabi; janjaweed leader Musa Hilal; and Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service.

Damanga Coaltion for Freedom and Democracy also calls on the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union to fully support the work of the International Criminal Court.  The mandate of the Court should be expanded and reinforced, since justice in places such as Darfur is vitally necessary in order to achieve a lasting peace.